Checkin' You Out, at the Check-Out
by HadenXCharm
Summary: You're scanning my items, but I'm scanning you. I was checkin' you out, but baby please don't check out of my life. (Yumichika/Ikkaku, Renji/Ichigo Modern-Human world - AU.) ( M for Sexual dialougue, Graphic activity of a sexual nature, and Cursing )
1. Chapter 1

Ikkaku growled to himself as he looked around the 'planned parent-hood' aisle.

Fucking Renji. Fucking Kurosaki. Fucking Renji who was fucking Kurosaki and making him go buy fucking oversized-condoms and other nasty shit. Ikkaku needed to find some new friends.

Ones that didn't make him do solids like this.

Of course, Ikkaku was smart enough to do this while he was grocery shopping. At least then the embarrassment of buying condoms and lube in public would be minimized. He could bury them at the bottom of his cart - and when it was time to check out he could stuff it on the conveyor belt with a bunch of food. Less conspicuous that way.

Ikkaku grabbed the box and chucked it in his cart, scowling and turning red when a woman's eyes went wide at the sight of him. She grabbed her child's arm and pulled them away with her.

Ikkaku was _so_ gonna' kick Renji's ass later.

He took his heavy bag off his shoulder and set it in the baby seat of the cart, coins clinking loudly when it was dropped.

After approximately ten minutes of wandering around and filling his cart with freezer food, chips, and beer, he moved over to one of the check-out aisles, slightly flustered at what was coming next.

He only had to wait a few minutes for the line to disappear, so he took the opportunity to flick through a couple magazines and pick a few packs of gum. Apparently he'd drifted off, because the next thing he knew, he was being sassed by a stranger: a store-employee.

"Sir, did you hear me? Are you deaf or just ugly?" came the cashier's snarky voice.

Ikkaku's eyebrow twitched as he returned the tabloid magazine to the rack. "I don't think they pay you seven twenty-five an hour ta' talk back to me."

"You weren't answering," said the voice in a mocking tone. "You'd think that without hair, you'd hear better." Oooh, Ikkaku was this close to putting whoever belonged to that voice in a chokehold.

"You'd better shut the hell up before I sic the manager on your ass." He started putting his stuff on the conveyor belt, feeling like he was trying to smuggle a bomb onto a plane when he put the condoms on there.

"Hmm," Ikkaku had to admit, that voice was pretty sexy even if it was annoying, and when he looked up, the person it belonged to was even sexier. Oh, wow...

He was really beautiful, with soft eyes, nice clear skin, and jaw-length black hair - His uniform actually looked good on him too, which was a plus. He was pretty good-looking.

... _Maybe_ Ikkaku would forgive him for back-talking him.

"That wouldn't be so bad - I don't like this job. Too many ugly, rude people in a hurry. And people are so cruel to male cashiers," The cashier said good-naturedly, making conversation as he scanned the barcodes on his snacks.

"Eh, sounds like you can fend for yourself. Your tongue's sharp." The pretty guy stuck out his tongue at him with a coy grin. "Anyone messes with ya', you could just smack em' down real easy."

"Probably," he replied, asking for his ID to sell him his liquor. Ikkaku opened his wallet, and the man hummed in appreciation, mentioning that they were born in the same year.

The sales clerk was really damn attractive now that Ikkaku was looking at him. His name tag said 'Yumichika A.' in english letters, and below it, it was spelled out in kana. The cashier eyed his dreaded purchase - Extra large box of Trojan condoms, and a few different kinds of lube.

"Should I ask?" the pretty guy asked flatly, flicking his eyes up to look at his face. Ikkaku inwardly cringed - This was what he had dreaded, that _look_, like they were thinking about how much of a pervert he was, and he _wasn't_ damnit!

"They-" Ikkaku stuttered, cheeks turning red. He immediately began fidgeting and scuffing his toe on the ground. "They're not for me. They're for my friend."

"Oh, so you're on the bottom bunk then-"

"Bastard!" Ikkaku shouted much too loudly, drawing attention to himself. He lowered his voice right away, snarling at Yumichika. "Who says I'm gay?"

"You didn't say you weren't. I just have never heard of a straight man buying condoms for another man," Yumichika said stoically, bagging his items.

"I guess… that's fair… enough," Ikkaku said slowly, feeling like he'd been talked in a circle, "But they really are for my friend. I owed him a solid, and he takes advantage a' solids. Him and his boy-toy go at it all day every day, and the noises are freakin' nasty, I'm glad I moved out."

"So you're not planning on getting lucky then," Yumichika asked coyly, drumming his nails on the box. Feeling a small flutter of courage, Ikkaku spat out the next words, surprisingly without stuttering or blushing,

"Maybe I'd be lucky if you'd go to dinner with me." Yumichika blinked at him a few times, staring him down.

"You won't be getting lucky with me," Yumichika said pointedly, crossing his arms, "But I will go out on your ugly, stupid little date."

Ikkaku grinned widely. "Great. Luck's already kickin' in."


	2. Chapter 2

**Review Reply:**

To the guest reviewer:

I don't know who you are, kind-mystery-stranger, ha-ha, but you made it sound like you've read a couple of my stories. I'm really glad you like them! And don't worry - I don't think _any_ reviews are stupid or time-wasting.

All of them encourage me, because this is a really slow pairing, and I don't get very many hits, reviews, or favorites, regardless of whether or not my story/writing is good, so any encouragement I can get is really helpful - because I know that the few people who do read my things, really really enjoy them and look forward to updates. It's just good to be appreciated, ha-ha.

I'm so glad you're into this idea, I hope you like where I take this story!

* * *

**AN -** This is a writing exercise of mine - Ya' know, 'write a little each day to become better?' So these chapters will be kind of 'hot off the press.'

I'm _not_ using that as an excuse for any spelling or grammar errors, but for _plot holes, or a lack of plot_ - Because I didn't think out a plot for this story, so it may not really have one, due to the fact that I'm writing as I go, and not thinking of the plot ahead of time.

So enjoy my rambling little story - I'm really trying to make it funny and in character. (:

Leave me a nice review with maybe a plot request and a vote on whether or not you think Renji and Ichigo should star in this fic too?

I'm planning to maybe have them go on a double date - Playing laser tag and eating some food. Maybe some making out. Sound good?

- _Just a side note_, If you're new to my stories, I do lots of Yumichika/Ikkaku, and I have plenty of ideas for more. I have an tumblr ask blog (ask-yumichika-ikkaku), do fanart, etc. I have a full length story fiction that has one more chapter to go! (Days of Our Lives) I have other one shots as well, and one incomplete multi-chapter story.

More funny weird au's to come~!

* * *

. . .

Yumichika hummed as he tallied up the last few bits in Ikkaku's grocery order - Grapes, soda, headache medicine, popsicles. Ikkaku grinned as he watched him half-dance around to the music playing over the loudspeaker.

"Alright sir... That comes out too," he grabbed the long trailing receipt and tore it off, handing it to Ikkaku, "Fifty-six, forty-two."

"Sheesh," Ikkaku sweat-dropped, opening his wallet, shelling out a fifty and picking out the rest in coins from his black bag. "Oh and by the way... My name's Ikkaku, nice ta' meet you an' stuff."

Yumichika stared at him, trying not to laugh. Ikkaku got flustered and yelled at him a little, "Geez, don't look at me like that! Just didn't want you to go on a date with someone that might be a serial killer."

"I saw your ID, Ikkaku," Yumichika said carefully, as if he was testing how his name felt in his mouth. Ikkaku growled at him a little.

"Yeah, yeah, just checking... You weren't lying were you," he asked, suddenly paranoid. Yumichika looked a little horrified.

"No, why would I turn down free food?" He smiled at him slyly, and Ikkaku laughed a little.

"Well geez, I know what _you're_ after then-"

Yumichika seemed to want to assure him that he really was interested, but didn't want to look soft or sensitive, so he sniffed snootily, and closed his eyes, crossing his arms. "I know that my time is valuable, and I wouldn't waste it going on dates with ugly idiots."

"Tch', I know there's a compliment in there somewhere," Ikkaku mumbled, grabbing Yumichika's wrist, making him take the bag of change. Yumichika looked surprised at being touched and twitched a little.

There hadn't been anyone waiting behind Ikkaku in line thus far, so when a group of trashy looking young men approached the ringer, the noise level was very jarring- in fact, people around them were staring at them as if there was a neon sign above them that flashed 'Disturbance of the Peace'.

"-An' she was gettin' all worked up, so I slapped the bitch-" Cue some obnoxious laughter. Yumichika wrinkled his nose at them, opening the little ziploc bag with a flourish, beginning to count out the large amount of change.

Ikkaku stiffened up, turning towards them a little. Yumichika looked a little surprised, as if he'd expected Ikkaku to ignore them as well - he quickly muttered under his breath to just leave it, and Ikkaku obeyed, breathing out through his nose in ire.

He grabbed a couple of plastic bags of his groceries and put them back in his cart, eager to get away from the loud idiots, even if it meant less time with his 'hot date'.

"Hey uhh... Yumichika," Ikkaku asked warily, knowing that he had scored a date with him, but not really knowing what the boundaries of his request were. Besides that, he didn't want to say too much with those guys standing near him - He didn't want Yumichika to change his mind about seeing him because of some frat-house hoodrats calling him 'faggot' at work, because of _his_ slip-up.

"Would it be alright if we doubled up? My uh... 'friend'," he stressed to show that this was the friend that made him buy the condoms, "and his," here he widened his eyes and nodded to indicate that this was his friend's lover, "... Maybe they could come with us? If that's alright?"

"That sounds fine to me," Yumichika replied readily, not seeming to realize Ikkaku's hesitance to reveal too much in front of these thugs. Or maybe he was just that smooth as to not let it bother him and play along with Ikkaku's game of 'Simon Says'. "What are their names?"

The group of men started to get restless at the time it was taking for Yumichika to count the large amount of change, - perhaps feeling that the time he was spending talking could be used to count faster. Nevertheless, they started to get rowdier, knocking shit onto the ground. Yumichika exhaled slowly, flicking his eyes up to Ikkaku as if to say, 'See what I have to deal with here?'

"Renji and Ichigo," Ikkaku said, leaning onto the counter a little to get closer to Yumichika, so he could speak in a lower voice. He put his hood up, not eager to draw any attention to himself from these guys. His fists were starting to clench up, and that was _not_ a good sign.

The last thing he needed was to get into a fight at the grocery store and get kicked out like some delinquent. Yumichika would _never_ wanna' see him if that happened, and he wanted to keep this date. Yumichika smelled really nice, and he was probably really soft and kissed good, and Ikkaku did _not_ wanna' mess up a chance to find out if he was right.

Yumichika looked up in surprise, "Abarai Renji?"

"Yeah, the one and only Prince of Dumb-ass Kingdom. With fire-truck red hair." Ikkaku replied. Yumichika nodded with a smile. "You know him?"

"Yes, we're very good friends. I've known him a long time. He may actually have mentioned you before," Yumichika chatted amicably, still adding up change at lightning speed without losing count. "I know what you mean when you say he and Ichigo really go at it," Ikkaku twitched a little uncomfortably, slitting his eyes sideways at the group of guys.

"Uhh, yeah, hey, do you think it's a good idea to use the Coinstar machine here? How much is the fine?"

"Not much," Yumichika said in confusion, a little unnerved at the abrupt change in subject. "I've used it for eighty dollars in change and only paid about five dollars,"

"Oh that's not so bad," Ikkaku picked up his big black bag and let it fall heavily back into the baby seat to make the jingling coin noise, "I got this full a' coins n' stuff. I didn't bring all a' my returnables but, I just- Ya' know, is it worth it ta'... go here instead a' the bank-"

Yumichika stacked up the nickels in little piles to represent dollars. Ikkaku grimaced - he should have grabbed a bag with quarters, and this could all have been over quicker.

Yumichika's hands were really... He liked watching them. Really graceful and smooth and with long thin fingers. They'd probably feel really nice between his.

By this time Yumichika had finished counting everything up. "No, I understood what you meant. Here you go," Yumichika returned the bit of change Ikkaku was owed, and slid him his receipt back a second time, with his phone number on it.

Ikkaku held it up to check that the items on the list were all correct, and noticed a little heart down by some cursive-style numbers. There was a little heart next to them and a message that said '- I was lying, You're very handsome.'

Ikkaku blushed, scratching at the back of his neck a little, unable to look up and check Yumichika's expression, but keenly aware of the violet eyes crawling all over him.

He moved down to the bagging area, so the guys could have the register. He started filling up his cart with the rest of his bags. Now that he and Yumichika weren't talking, the men's noisy conversation was back in his realm of perception. One of them - with particularly saggy pants, and a dirty white tanktop underneath one of those overlarge-furlined jackets - was telling a story much too loudly.

"-started screamin' about callin' the police, an' so I was like, 'go ahead n' call the cops, they can't unrape you!'" Yumichika jolted a little, putting a hand over his mouth, eyes widening when the man started going into detail over his story. He quickly recovered and seemed to wrestle his feelings beneath the surface, and had a carefully blank face as he started scanning one of the more respectful men's party supplies.

Ikkaku stiffened up and got upset, unable to keep his shit-talk to himself, "Yeah but maybe they'd get there in time to un-castrate _you_, you dipshit-"

He could feel eyes on him now, from the other cashier's, from Yumichika, from other shopper's, and didn't really feel embarrassed. They all just seemed surprised that he had challenged this guy that everyone was trying to ignore.

The guy turned and looked at him incredulously, and Yumichika, having gotten over his shocked admiration, bit his lip to hold in his laughter, scanning the guy's cigarettes.

The only thing that could've made it funnier would be the guy's overlarge pants falling the rest of the way off of his ass. Whatever - Almost all of his neon colored boxers were already visible; the only thing the thug would've had to be embarrassed about were his skinny-ass-chicken legs.

His friends were all 'Oh'-ing, and saying 'burn' and hissing like fucking snakes, none of them really offended on their 'bro's' behalf. Ikkaku just crossed his arms, glaring at the guy, daring him to do something.

Yumichika watched him with interest as he scanned the rest of the men's items, taking money from one of the less rowdy ones, and asking for their ID's so he could sell them their beer and cigarettes.

"You talkin' pretty big, huh cueball?" Ikkaku guessed that this guy was one of those suburbaner's children who liked to act like they were from the 'hood'.

Ikkaku's eyebrow twitched at the jab, but kept his cool, knowing that he easily ould turn into the culprit of all this - After all, he had tattoos and looked somewhat like a punk himself. This could all be blamed on him.

"I can talk just as much shit as you, but at least I can back it up," Ikkaku said, gesturing to his gang of hoodlums. "What, how many people do you need to help you to punch one guy who backsassed ya'? Or do you need your mom here in case I make ya' shit yer' pants-"

Yumichika covered his mouth and turned away, and a couple of the guys friends did the same thing, desperate to hold in their laughter. "He's tearin' you up, man-"

The guy was getting frustrated, Ikkaku could tell, because he set his jaw, and started doing that stupid swagger towards him, holding his arms out like he was saying 'do something'. Ikkaku tried not to laugh, thinking of some sort of demented penguin, flapping it's idiotic flippers at him, trying to look intimidating.

"Do somethin'." Yep, here we go. "Ya' talk so tough,"

"I talk tough cuz' I can back it up, I said."

Ikkaku just rolled his eyes, holding his arms out. He could see Yumichika clicking a button under the counter-top to get the manager's attention.

"_Do_ somethin'!"

"Hey man, I'm right here. _You_ do something. I'm one guy, c'mon," Ikkaku twisted his head to the side and pointed at his cheek, "Right here, c'mon... No?"

"You ain't worth it,"

"I thought so," Ikkaku put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his phone, looking away. The guy clenched his fists and suddenly threw a sucker punch, which Ikkaku easily ducked. He kicked the guy in the back of the leg and watched him crumple to the ground.

"Pssh. Coward." Ikkaku stood there looking at him for a couple seconds - the guy's friends just stood there looking a little embarrassed as he peeled himself off the ground sputtering and cursing up a storm.

Just in time for the manager to arrive.

"Okay, all of you, _out,_ right now-" said the woman in a brisk, firm tone. Her hair was in a bun and she held a clipboard. Ikkaku thought she looked kind of like a librarian. She was accompanied by the assistant manager, which was a burly guy who looked like a stereotypical bouncer.

"Go, get out. _Go on_," she said pointedly, gesturing them out. Yumichika practically threw the receipt at one of the guy's with particularly saggy pants - who'd been trying to flirt with him.

They started to shuffle out, except for the guy Ikkaku had made a fool of, who tried to get at him again. Immediately the bouncer guy with the bulging muscles grabbed him.

"Yeah, You see me in the streets - _You see me in the streets wit' dat'_!" Ikkaku sneered at him.

"Now yer' tough, huh? Someone holdin' you back,"

"You an' yer' little bitch fag have a good time bu-" The bouncer covered his mouth and wrestled him out the automatic doors. Yumichika visibly bristled. A few of the shoppers who were observing the confrontation were mutting something about disgraceful displays and young people having no respect. Someone actually asked Ikkaku if he was okay.

Ikkaku waved a hand at the guy and turned away. The manager looked at him and pointed to the door.

"All of you. You too. Go." Yumichika immediately leapt to explain that he hadn't been part of the disruption.

"Miss Ise, please, honestly, he's not a hooligan. You know how ugly I find them-"

She grimaced a little but conceded to let Ikkaku stay. After she left, Ikkaku and Yumichika turned to see the bouncer guy come back into the store, thug-less. They looked at each other and burst out giggling like little kids.

"Oh my god," Yumichika gasped after a few moments, beginning to scan the items of a young woman with a baby carrier on her back, and a toddler in the cart-seat. "I think you're the one with the sharp tongue... That was really brave," Yumichika looked at him, and there was a glint of visible attraction in his eye now.

Ikkaku laughed a little bit longer, putting some of the woman's stuff in plastic bags for Yumichika so he could stick around and talk to him. "I can't stand a fake-" he cut himself off, looking at the little kids. "I can't stand when people's mouths are bigger than their fists." Yumichika nodded at him, smiling a little.

"That was very brave. I think I like you," He smiled wider, but narrowed his eyes at him. "I think you've made enough of a spectacle though. You should move off," Yumichika said pointedly, spinning the bagger to make more room. The woman smiled at them, being one of the people who had seen the whole fight, but had been lingering back to avoid getting her children injured.

"Go, you filthy hooligan, you," Yumichika swatted him a little and pointed over to the coin machine. Ikkaku stuck his tongue out at him and moved over to the Coinstar with his cart, opening his coin bag.

He fistpumped to himself, biting his lower lip with a grin. Ikkaku pulled his hood up further as he scanned over the directions on the machine, really just reeling inside that he'd scored such an attractive date. That had been easy, he couldn't believe he'd said yes!

'_Lucky Lucky Lucky~'_

Even the snark in Yumichika's voice just endeared him to Ikkaku - Ikkaku _loved_ bickering, no matter how much he denied it. He was really excited, feeling that floating sensation of finding new love.

He began humming without being aware of it as he started dumping his numerous bags of change onto the metal tray, lifting it up cautiously to watch it slide down into the machine. He heard some clinking, banging, and then a _click_ as each coin went through some sort of receiver, at which point the amount would show up on the screen.

By this time, he'd taken out his phone and was holding it between his shoulder and ear, pouring the money in slowly like the machine said to.

"Yeah? Renji?" Renji picked up, and his voice wasn't wavering like Ichigo was giving him head at the moment - _Good sign. _Those were some nasty phone-calls.

"Do me a solid... You owe me now. I got yer'," he picked through the cart to look for Renji's sick shit. "Trojan, extra-large, extra-strength, pre-lubed, bla-blabla, Oh _gross_, these are pleasure mesh- huh?"

Renji said something, something he did _not_ want to hear.

He blinked, oh _hell_ no. "The freakin' frack, I can't frickin' believe- Ugh, Do you _really_ need Magnum?... Well too bad, you're taking the freaking Trojan ones, I'm not going through that again... _I said too bad-"_

Ikkaku rested his forehead on the screen of the Coinstar, "I really don't care if they make your asses sore, man, I got your lube, It doesn't- You know what, I'm sick of this sh- Urrrgh, I'm so freakin' mad at you, and I can't swear in the store anymore, you butthole... No, I got into a fight. No... _No_."

Renji babbled more nonsense at him, "No, no, shut up- Listen to me now, Just stop being a baby, and go to the gosh-dang clinic and get checked, and then you won't need the rubber anyway. _No, _Hey- You'd better frickin' do it, or I'm gonna' make my deal with Ichigo... Heh, yeah, _now_ you wanna'- Hm?... Dude, it's free, don't worry. Just go to the public one. ... Yeah... Next to... yup."

He sighed a little, "I hate you, man..." He laughed a little at Renji's response. "You owe me a solid, an' I'm cashin' it in right now... Mhm... Oh, nothin' bad. I got a date- What? Why are you laughi- You _Frickerfr-_ GAH-!"

He paced a little, realizing that people were staring at him. Damn, Ikkaku, always making a scene. He pouted, shoving more coins into the machine, waving Yumichika away when he looked at him with concern.

He lowered his voice and turned up the volume on his phone, "Don't freaking laugh at me, _yes, _I have a date. An' they're good looking... Listen, I don't want it gettin' messed up. So you an' Ichi- Freakin', I swear if you don't stop laughing and take me serious, I'm gonna' choke you next time I see you... _Renji_-"

Ikkaku sighed deeply at the laughter in his ear, and then jumped a little as he heard a loud shout in the background, telling Renji to shut the hell up with many colorful cuss words following, and a threat of celibacy for a week. Renji shut up immediately, "Is that Ichigo? Give him the phone- No, give him the phone."

Not nearly close to being done dumping all his change in the machine, Ikkaku picked up the pace and dumped in two plastic bags at once. "Yeah? I just want you ta' get Renji to go on a double-date with me an' my date. Dude, I swear if you laugh, I'll kill you... Okay, okay, just checking... Yeah, I have a date. They're good looking. Yes they're real. No, they're not homeless. Or desperate... Why is that hard to believe?" Ikkaku growled in frustration. "So what if I don't date? I'm dating _now_."

He was getting impatient, "Dude, just- C'mon... Alright... Yeah... I just wanna' go like play laser-tag or something, because- Yeah, I know you're gonna' beat us. I'm just sayin' a movie's a horrible first date, so don't let Renji turn you to the dark side or something for that new sci-fi movie." Ichigo was a lot easier to deal with than Renji. Honestly, sometimes Ikkaku forgot that Abarai was a grown-ass man.

"Yeah, and food after. Yes. Yes... I know... Yeah, it's my fault he's excited to go to the clinic with you. Yeah, now you owe me... Mhm... Yeah, you're welcome, just come on the date and you won't owe me anymore... Yep... Thank you... Yeah, Bye."

Ikkaku grinned.

Hopefully Yumichika would be worth going through all of that, and Ikkaku had a feeling that he was.


	3. Chapter 3

Ikkaku hoped that Yumichika hadn't taken his little 'serial killer' comment to heart, because he insisted on driving himself to the location.

Well, perhaps it was just that Yumichika was smart, and that he valued his own life - Ikkaku was a bit bigger than him, and could probably overpower him easily. They had only met that morning after all, and although Yumichika had seen ID to verify that that was his real name, and they had two mutual friends, they really were little less than perfect strangers.

Perfect strangers that had crushes on each other, maybe.

Ikkaku waited outside in front of the 'kiddie-casino', holding the door open for Yumichika, who had dressed in a black jacket and jeans. Yumichika smiled at him and passed into the building, and Ikkaku got a little light-headed at the smell of Yumichika's perfume-cologne-aftershave-he had no idea. He smelled frickin' delicious, and he looked like sex on legs.

And _frick_, Yumichika squabbled with him and teased him and he was smart and sweet and funny, and just everything he was looking for. _'Lucky, lucky, lucky, who is lucky?_ I am, motherfucker!_ Woop!'_

"You look nice," Yumichika commented, seeming sincere, even though Ikkaku hadn't changed out of the clothes he'd been in earlier. He was still wearing his big black hoodie that covered pretty much every attractive part of him - and some jeans with tears on the knees.

He'd wanted to get all nice for Yumichika, so he had taken a shower, and done some push-ups, but he also didn't want to seem like he was trying too hard - didn't wanna' seem desperate - so he'd just put on the same clothes again, even though they made him look out of shape. None of his muscles were visible from under that hoodie and it irritated him a little, because being lazy and overweight, sadly was a deal-breaker for a lot of people.

Ikkaku sweat-dropped and scratched at the back of his neck, cringing inwardly at the fuzzy feeling that gave him. Yumichika thought he looked nice?

Well, realistically he knew that maybe that had been a pity compliment, but still, it had felt good - he didn't get compliments often. If Yumichika thought he looked nice like this, just wait till' he took his shirt off painting his apartment walls.

'_I really should invite him over for that,_' Ikkaku thought slyly, thinking maybe Yumichika would start liking his personality on accident if he could get him to stick around for awhile to see him shirtless more.

He was notorious for having difficulty being nice to people - emotions were a sore spot for him, and he was keenly aware of that, so he tried to force out a compliment in return, meaning it wholeheartedly even if it sounded a little awkward. "Eh, thanks, you do too... Really nice. Too pretty fer' a cashier. People'll start givin' ya' tips." Ikkaku grinned widely with all his teeth, feeling a little nervous - because that had almost sounded like he'd just called Yumichika a hooker, oh _god_, he was fucking everything up.

To his surprise, Yumichika just laughed a little, thankfully unoffended. "So, um, whaddya' think," he gestured to the place - grimy arcade machines, questionable looking food counter, and rusting diner stools. Now that Ikkaku thought about it, this was kind of a gritty place, and Yumichika would be right to suspect some sort of serial killer action.

"It's ugly," Yumichika said bluntly, sniffing as he grimaced, "and bratty children always congregate in these types of places."

"Damn, ya' hate it?" Ikkaku said sorrowfully, but Yumichika shook his head, saying that he'd give it a chance, because he'd heard the laser-tag floor was state-of-the-art. "Yeah, it is. Professionals come here to play all the time - it really ticks the kids off, cuz' there's no way in hell they wanna' play against adults who do this religiously. Kids like winnin' an' shit." Ikkaku backed up in alarm as some children that came up to his belly-button, raced past him, almost knocking themselves out by running into a support beam. "Sheesh."

Yumichika laughed, saying that paintball players were similar in that regard. "Are the others already here?"

"Ah, they're almost here, we can just wait over at that table." Ikkaku pointed to the front of the room, near the counter-top where the kids could exchange tickets for toys, like at a chuck-e cheese.

Ikkaku pulled out a chair for Yumichika, and pushed it in when he sat down. Yumichika looked at him a little strangely, but crossed his fingers and laid them on the tabletop. "You want some soda? I'll buy it."

"Oh no, that's okay," Yumichika said a little defensively, and went quiet for a few moments, watching Ikkaku. "I've never played laser-tag before," he then said with an enthusiastic smile. Ikkaku's chest tightened a little, heart feeling all warm and fuzzy. Damn, he was getting hooked on this guy's smile, and his voice was so smooth that it sounded like music in his ears.

"Oh no? This'll be memorable then. I thought it might be better than a movie so I'd get ta' talk to ya' a little..." Ikkaku said, flailing for a moment to find something to say - there was a reason that he didn't date. He wasn't good at making conversation; That stereotype of boys being mean to people they liked wasn't all a myth, it was _really_ _hard_ to say nice things out loud.

"Renji and Ichigo are gonna' smoke us," he grinned, trying to feel at ease. Yumichika had agreed to see him, and that meant that he was at least _somewhat_ interested in him - there was no reason to be nervous. "If ya' wanna' be on my team, that is. Ya' might have a chance if we split up." Yumichika grinned at him, and Ikkaku found that he couldn't take his eyes away from his face.

_'Beautiful... I wonder if he'd let me kiss him. Is it too early on the first date?' _Then he found that he couldn't stop staring at Yumichika's mouth. His lips were probably really soft. But then the lips moved, and Ikkaku realized that Yumichika was answering him and that he needed to pay attention.

"I'll be with you. I know someone else who plays laser-tag very well, and they gave me a lot of advice-"

"Oh yeah? Who'zat?" Yumichika looked caught off guard that he was so engaged in the conversation, as if he wasn't used to being listened to.

"He-"

"Oh, look, there they are," Ikkaku interrupted and pointed at the door. Renji came in wearing one of his usual muscle-t-shirts, and a bandanna on his forehead, and Ichigo came in behind him, already yelling at him with a big scowl on his face. Ikkaku thought he could hear him saying something about parking the car in two lanes and possibly getting it towed while they were in here.

Renji just said that for anyone else to park near him, they'd have to use two lanes as well, and then the tow truck wouldn't know who to tow. Ichigo argued that they still might pick his car anyways-

Ikkaku waved to them to let them know where they were, and they came over. "Hey, Yumichika's here, hey-" Renji stopped dead, pointing at Yumichika and looking up at Ikkaku. "You-"

Ichigo's mouth opened and closed, opened again, and he looked back and forth between the two of them a few times, like he was watching a tennis match, "You're... Uh... When you said you had a date..."

"Yumichika, you're dating this..." Renji said incredulously, "This... Uh..."

Ikkaku glared at him, "This _what?!_ Is there a problem here?"

"Oi, don't get so upset," Yumichika said, raising his eyebrows. Ikkaku just grumbled a little, putting his hood up and crossing his arms like a pouty kid. Yumichika smiled.

"No, no, no problem," Ichigo said a little too hurriedly, dragging a chair over to their table, "Renji, go pay an' set up the match." He said it like he wanted Renji to go before he said something bad like '_Hey Yumichika, aren't you with somebody else still?'_

"On it, babe." Renji ruffled Ichigo's hair, pecking his cheek before Ichigo could slap him away and grouch the typical answer of 'I'm notchyer' babe.' Renji grinned in triumph, and then pointed in Ikkaku's face, "We're gonna' smoke you."

"I _know,_" Ikkaku said through gritted teeth, glaring at him. Renji stared back for a second, before going to pay like Ichigo had asked - _demanded. _Ichigo bit his lips and puffed out his cheeks for a couple seconds, looking between the two of them.

"So... How did you guys... Uh... I'm not saying I don't think you should go out, I just... never expected..." Ichigo said awkwardly, stumbling on his sentences a little.

"Are you saying that I'm dating low," Yumichika asked with eyes narrowed, silently threatening to gut Ichigo like a fish if he said anything about his significant other in front of Ikkaku. Ichigo shook his head wildly.

"No, no, no, I just mean... Well if I think about it, you guys'd probably get along, it was just... surprising..." he finished awkwardly, glancing at Yumichika uncomfortably as if he knew something. Yumichika's gut clenched, because he _did_ know something. And so did Renji. They'd better not ruin this for him.

"I got into a fight," Ikkaku said bluntly in answer to the question of how they'd met. "In the grocery store where he works. And I guess we just... I dunno'. Somehow I got lucky."

"You have no idea," Yumichika muttered to Ichigo, and Ichigo blinked for a second and then started laughing, permanent scowl melting away. Renji turned around from where he was standing, ordering the matches, grinning in confusion at what besides him could make Ichigo emit that high-pitched laugh. Ikkaku glared at the two of them.

"Ay', quit talkin' me down," he grumbled, kicking at Yumichika's legs gently under the table. They smiled at each other, and Ichigo tried not to laugh more as he got up to go look for Renji.

As if on cue, Renji shouted at them from across the room to come to the little black walled room where the people playing the next laser-tag game wait. There were lots of gun holsters on the walls, and tv monitors on the top corners of the room, with game names and scores.

"We got only a little while to wait. Uh... standard rules guys? Don't hit the little kids too hard and... uh... no cursing very loudly... and... Yeah," Renji finished, plopping down next to Ichigo on the cushioned bench. He tried to bite his neck a little, but Ichigo shoved his face away, shouting at him that there were kids here.

"Yeah, but there's none in this room yet," Renji whined, diving across the bench to grab his retreating boyfriend around the waist.

"Get off, you hooligan! Ack- Stop it, let go of me!"

"Hush. You know you like it. You're just embarrassed."

"Shut _up!"_

Ikkaku sat down near Yumichika gingerly, scootching a little closer. After a moment of hesitation and gathering his balls, he softly asked, "Is it okay if I put my arm 'round ya'?" Geez, his heart was frickin' pounding; he wasn't good at this emotional shit, but he didn't wanna' act like a complete jerk and make Yumichika think that he didn't like him or something.

He'd just try to show Yumichika that he was sweet on him and stuff, even if saying nice things was like pulling nails.

Yumichika had been staring straight ahead, patiently waiting for their turn - trying to tune out his friend's all too familiar yelling. He looked a little surprised at the question, but he nodded hesitantly as if he wondered why on earth Ikkaku would want to do such a thing.

Ikkaku put a warm, muscled arm around his shoulders and pulled him in a little closer, getting comfortable on the bench as he propped his foot up on on his other knee. Yumichika just looked at him blankly like he didn't understand what they were doing. Ikkaku lazily traced circles on Yumichika's shoulder with his hand, leaning his head back against the wall.

Yumichika seemed to finally realize that Ikkaku was trying to cuddle him or something, and he hesitantly leaned his head very slightly on Ikkaku's shoulder, scootching a tiny bit closer. Ikkaku didn't respond other than to tighten his hold on him and rub his shoulder a little more. Yumichika gave a breathy sigh, relaxing from his stiff, awkward position, melting onto Ikkaku's warm hoodie.

By that point, the red-head and the redder-head had stopped arguing for a moment, "Hey, just tellin' ya', Yumichika..." Ichigo began, eyeing Renji sideways, who was trying to get him to shut up by glaring at him, "Stop it, you. We always win, so stop pouting." Ichigo pointedly ignored Renji then, "I'm tryin' ta' give ya' a head start so ya' don't get _completely_ slaughtered. The green guns shoot better. So get a green one before this idiot tries ta' make you take a blue one."

Renji pouted and began whining loudly, until Ichigo grabbed his nipple through his shirt and twisted it. The red-head gave off a high-pitched yelp, staring at Ichigo with wide eyes before tackling him to the floor. Yumichika giggled a little.

"You asshole! What happened to not doing shit out in the open!?"

"Get _offa' me_, there's kids here, what the hell are you doin'?"

Yumichika started laughing, putting a hand over his mouth. Renji scowled and dragged Ichigo up off the floor, practically chucking him back onto the bench. Ichigo smirked at him, nudging his butt with his foot.

Renji ignored him, scowling deeper. "Yeah, laugh it up Yumichika. Just wait until we get started. You two are goin' down!" Renji shouted, cheeks red with embarrassment. After a couple seconds, he kicked Ichigo in the leg, crossing his arms and sulking. Ichigo grabbed him by the back of his pants and dragged him down onto the bench, demanding that he quit pouting.

"Have fun on your date with death," Ichigo quipped, grinning good-naturedly. It was nice to see Ikkaku with someone.

* * *

Ikkaku had to admit, that for a first-timer, Yumichika was pretty good. He wasn't even petty or anything by shooting the little kids who were running loose in the dark maze. The two of them were out for blood - specifically from their two friends. Nobody else mattered.

He had been a little worried that Yumichika might make beginner mistakes, but Yumichika was actually really good at creeping along quietly and remembering which way they had come from - almost like he could build a map in his head.

Yumichika kept close to him, sometimes gripping the front pocket of Ikkaku's hoodie to keep track of where the bigger man was in the dark. The only light provided was the glow of the guns, their bullet-vests, and the big splotches of the glow-in-the-dark stickers on the walls and floors.

Renji and Ichigo had already gone and begun their little stake-out in some crevice of the maze that Ikkaku could never find.

"They always hide in the same place," Ikkaku whispered as they came out of a twisted corridor into a little room with a window in it - the perfect place for sniping people who passed by outside. There weren't any glowing stickers, so the room was completely dark and wasn't easily visible from the outside hallway. "It's a room like this on the other half of the maze, but I can never find them."

"This is perfect, of course they'd always take the same place," Yumichika hissed back, crouching down beneath the window.

Ikkaku came a little closer to him, following the slight glow of Yumichika's laser gun. "People don't usually find these rooms, there's only like three. We could talk for a while," he suggested, not sure if Yumichika was really comfortable with what he was asking.

He had heard Yumichika when he said that he wasn't going to 'get lucky' with him, so he wasn't going to try to make a move - but Yumichika might think that that was his intention: to try to get him alone in this dark room so that he could make out with him.

"Okay," Yumichika agreed, not seeming to feel the same tension that Ikkaku did. "While we wait for someone to pass by." He grinned devilishly and Ikkaku snickered a little. Devious little minx. He felt a surge of affection for the smaller man.

"Yeah, when someone comes by, we smoke 'em. Renji'll come out first lookin' for us."

"I say we scare him," Yumichika said slyly, scootching a little closer to Ikkaku on the dark floor.

"Hey, can I..." Ikkaku began uncertainly, folded legs touching Yumichika's slightly. He hated saying vulnerable shit like this; it was extremely uncomfortable and grated on his male pride. "Can I hold your hand?"

Yumichika looked at him and grinned with mirth, "What, are you scared of the dark?" He genuinely didn't seem to understand.

"No, I just wanna' hold your hand, stupid," Ikkaku mumbled - just barely stopping himself from saying something cruel out of defensiveness. He wasn't able to keep from tacking that little insult on the end however. Yumichika's smile faded away and he looked at him strangely, before holding out his hand almost timidly.

Ikkaku took his soft, cool hand in his and brought it up to his mouth, looking Yumichika in the eyes as he pecked his knuckles. Then he just warmed his hand between his big palms for a while before linking their fingers together.

He could've sworn Yumichika was blushing - he looked really uncomfortable, like he was trying to sit on pins. "Am I making you feel uncomfortable? I'm sorry," Ikkaku said considerately, loosening his grip so that Yumichika had a choice to withdraw. Yumichika shook his head, breathing a little strangely.

"No, I'm just not used to it."

"Are you sure? You look kinda' sick, I'm not scarin' you, am I? You don't have ta' worry, I'm not gonna' try somethin'."

"No, no, honestly, I'm just not used to it. It's nice," Yumichika said more firmly, thus far limp hand squeezing Ikkaku's back.

"Well, good... I think so too." Ikkaku leaned back against the wall, rubbing Yumichika's hand with his thumb a little.

"Hey," Yumichika said, going back to his happier attitude, squeezing Ikkaku's hand tightly. "Do you think they're off making out somewhere instead of looking for us?" Ikkaku cracked a smile, getting closer to him in the dark.

"Heh, no way. They take this game way too seriously. - There was this one time that Renji tried somethin' though."

"Oh yeah? What happened?"

"Last time Renji tried something, Ichigo ... I think Ichigo kicked him where it hurts, because he screamed really loudly and gave away their position." Yumichika began to shake from giggling too hard, trying to stay quiet.

"It's so funny to watch them; They aren't any less smitten than when they got together in high school."

"Heh', you're right." Ikkaku grinned, remembering. They'd been shorter, with a little acne, and a lot louder, if that was believable. Even less believable was that they seemed to grow more in love as time went by.

He really wanted something like that.

"It's like they're polar opposites, but at the same time, they're extremely alike. I wonder how they stay together sometimes... Ichigo seems hesitant to be open in public - but Renji's the exact opposite."

"It's cause' he's more jealous. He likes makin' his territory clear, I think... I'm more like him in that way, I guess... I think they stay together, because... they act like equals, even when they're insulting each other." Yumichika was quiet for a little while, and Ikkaku cringed. Maybe he'd said too much.

"Your hands are like ice, are you getting too cold?" Ikkaku asked with concern, "Here, come closer to me," he scootched Yumichika in a little closer, putting an arm around him, trading hands to continue intertwining their fingers. "Do you want to wear my hoodie?"

"No, that's very kind of you though," Yumichika said a little flatly, as if he felt that Ikkaku's kindness was false somehow. Then he jumped a little, scaring Ikkaku nearly out of his wits. He said that he heard something, calming Ikkaku down a little bit. A moment later he heard the heavy footfalls too, poorly disguised by the light steps.

"That's Renji," Ikkaku breathed out with near silence, "he wore his work-boots here, the idiot," Yumichika smiled at him and turned around to the window extremely quietly, putting his gun up to his cheek so he could line up the sites at the opposite wall outside the window.

"Any second. Hit him, then we run, okay? I'll cover you,"

"How sweet," Yumichika whispered back, hardly making any noise at all. Ikkaku stood up slowly so as not to break his concentration or draw attention to their position.

After about twenty seconds of silence, Renji finally had crept past the window backwards, holding the gun up to his eye, checking to see if he was being followed. He was whisper-humming the pink panther theme like a complete dork, half crouching as he moved slowly.

Yumichika held the trigger down and hit him with a continuous shot with his automatic gun. Renji's vest jolted with the bullet-simulation over and over and over.

He shouted in surprise, whirling around to look through the dark window, Yumichika had ducked smoothly before being seen. Ikkaku ran out of the room and started shooting Renji more, so Yumichika could start running down the hallway.

By that time, Ikkaku was running after him, laughing loudly as he caught sight of Yumichika's excited smile. "Havin' fun?"

"Yes," Yumichika ran up a ramp and a hopped over a few hurdle walls, going almost too fast for Ikkaku to keep up at all. He skidded through a triangle shaped opening in the wall and around a corner, pulling Ikkaku back against the wall with him. "I'm glad I came with you, even though we're going to lose."

"Just what I wanted to hear, sweets," Ikkaku said absently, peering around a corner, taking Yumichika's hand and leading him further through the corridors.

Yumichika looked at him with wonder, following without question.

* * *

"Woooooaaah!" Renji shouted, slamming his foot on the ground, "OH! I told you we'd beat you guys!"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, you idiot-" Ikkaku said, and he sharply looked up at Ichigo who had said the exact same thing.

"Woah, that was weird." Ichigo scratched the back of his head a little, "Anyone else gotta' use it before we go?"

"Me," Yumichika said, following behind the orange-haired man to the bathroom.

"Hey wait," Ikkaku called, "Lemme' hold onto yer' jacket for ya'," Yumichika turned around, looking at him warily, but took off his jacket and handed it to him.

"Thank you," he said a little emotionlessly, turning and blinking to himself for a moment before he entered the men's room. Ikkaku was not at all how he expected him to be. He was... concerned for his wellbeing and feelings, and Yumichika wasn't used to someone caring this much.

And Ikkaku had only known him for one day - Maybe he wasn't dating low at all; Maybe it was who he was already with who was the low peak. He shook his head, opening a stall.

* * *

Renji leaned over to Ikkaku, who was standing there waiting, humming quietly. "Let's sit."

"Oh, okay," he said, as if coming out of some deep thought.

"So you met him, had a fight in front of him, and he still wanted to come on a date with you?"

"Alright, you nosey idiot, here's what happened-"

* * *

After closing the stall he'd just used, Yumichika went over to the sink, checking his face in the mirror before beginning to wash his hands. Ichigo sauntered up behind him and leaned his hip on the counter for a second, watching him silently before opening his mouth with a pop.

"Wow..."

"What?" Yumichika looked up at him, trying to get the cheap faucets to make the water at least _moderately_ warm. It wasn't really working, but he thought it was a little less freezing than it had originally been.

"I just... Hm." Ichigo scratched at the back of his neck for a second before turning on his own faucet, using way too much soap. Probably just a byproduct of being a doctor's son. "I've just never seen Ikkaku like this. It's weird."

"How do you mean?" Yumichika asked curiously. Was his date a jerk normally? That wasn't a good sign.

"No, nothin' bad, don't look like that," Ichigo said a little awkwardly, "I didn't realize until I saw you two together that... I dunno'... I guess he was lonely."

"Really?" Yumichika inquired a little warily.

"Renji mentioned it to me on the way here in the car... and he's right... Ikkaku really doesn't date. I just mean as long as I've known him, I've never seen him with someone... No women, no... drunken one-nighters... Nothin'. He's like a rock."

"Is _that_ so," Yumichika burst out laughing, laughing harder at Ichigo's embarrassed face.

"Ew, don't e- You sound like Renji," Ichigo smiled begrudgingly. "You knew what I meant."

"Alright, alright, I've had my fun."

"I'm just saying... He must really like you if he actually went through the trouble to ask you out..." Ichigo grew serious then, "Listen... I know you're still with Kaa, and I'm not trying to butt in, but... I really think that... Just... Ugh." He grew flustered and grabbed some paper towels.

"I'm just saying not to lead him on. You must be special for him somehow, and you could probably really hurt him if you're not careful. Okay? At least let him down easy if you gotta'." Yumichika's smile had faded, but he nodded.

"I'll be tactful," Yumichika promised, "Where are we going to eat?"

"Uhhh, Applebees? I think?" Ichigo said, making weird faces as he wiped paper towels in between his fingers.

"Oh good, I was hoping it wasn't too fancy," Yumichika said in relief, "Or too expensive. Besides, I don't trust valets."

Ichigo looked at him for a second before giving this weird smile/pained-grimace. Then he began laughing really hard, "You're just like Renji." He sighed then, "Ah geez, okay let's go."

When he came out of the bathroom, Ikkaku handed him his jacket back, and removed his own hoodie.

Yumichika gaped. Oh _wow_, he hadn't realized how fit and muscular he was under that baggy monstrosity. Ikkaku looked a little taller now, and his biceps were probably bigger than Yumichika's head.

A bit of his collar bone was visible from around the neck of his tight t-shirt, and Yumichika noticed that his skin was really tan. His scarred ropy arms crossed over his hard chest, muscles bulging. His stomach was flat and rippled, leading down into powerful hips and long legs. Like a fucking greek statue.

Yep, Yumichika was still gay.

'His back is shaped like a cobra - Holy shit,' Yumichika thought weakly, feeling distinctly aroused.

Ichigo started laughing at the look on his face, and Renji couldn't get anything out of him other than something about rocks.

* * *

_AN-_ I just want to mention that Yumichika's boyfriend Kaa is going to make a cameo in a lot of my future stories - mostly as Yumichika's jerk american boyfriend.

He wasn't supposed to appear in this story first, but in a different one where Yumichika and Ikkaku are college roommates who hate each other. I just thought he'd fit in here as well.

I already built a personality for this character, just like all of Yumichika/Ikkaku's kids for the stories I'm going to do where they have a family. I'm going to do it this way so you don't have to get used to a different character for every single new story. So Kaa will always take the role of Yumichika's jerk boyfriend/abusive boyfriend/absent lover/just a regular boyfriend. (That is, if Hisagi isn't in the story)

And just like Kaa, if I write a story with Ikkaku and Yumichika having children, the kids will always be the same in every story.


	4. Chapter 4

Ikkaku thought that dinner had gone really well - The only troubling argument that they'd had, was over who should pay. Ikkaku insisted that it didn't _matter_ that they were both guys; _He'd_ asked Yumichika out on the date, so _he_ should have to pay.

Yumichika had still insisted that he pay something, so Ikkaku went on to say that you wouldn't invite your mom over for her birthday, and make her pay for her own food. Yumichika agreed that that made sense, but he had paid the tip.

Ichigo and Renji didn't have the same problem, because Ichigo just demanded that Renji cough up the money.

Ikkaku noticed that Yumichika tipped pretty heavily and asked about it - Yumichika explained his newfound appreciation for people in the service industries. People were _evil_ to waitresses and the like, and he understood that now that he was a cashier.

Ikkaku thought it was cute - and he also noticed Yumichika's kindness, despite those 'ugly' comments he made quite often. Kindness was a good trait to look for in a person, as was being a good listener. Yumichika was _both._ Jackpot! How freaking lucky was he?!

But overall, their date had gone really well, he felt - even though they'd gotten smoked at laser-tag. He had paid for all of Yumichika's food, sat next to him at the booth, and made sure that he didn't forget his wallet or phone there when they left. Their conversations had been easy and filled with that snarky bickering that Ikkaku freaking _loved_, and he found that he was liking Yumichika more and more as time went by.

He knew that he'd found someone special, and it was really exciting to him. It got kind of lonely, living alone, now that he'd moved away from Renji and Ichigo, and he'd always secretly kinda' wanted somebody to spoil rotten.

Yumichika was his lottery prize - all that was left now, was to win, and get a second date.

When it was time to go, Renji gave Yumichika a sharp look, and pointed at him violently, as if to say that he'd better do something - what that something was, Ikkaku had no idea. The corners of Yumichika's mouth grew tight, and Renji gave him one last parting glance before slinging his arm around Ichigo's thin shoulders and walking to their car.

Ikkaku didn't ask - he was mentally readying himself - sort of like how he did before using a scratch card to see if he'd won or not - Now was the time he'd find out if Yumichika wanted to see him again.

As they walked out to the parking lot, Yumichika asked him to come sit down in his car for a little while so they could talk. Ikkaku started to feel kinda' nervous, which bothered him, because he'd actually had pretty good control of his nerves all night.

He shut the passenger door behind himself and turned in his car seat to look at Yumichika, who looked agitated and almost - dare he say it - timid.

"Hey, what's wrong... Did ya' have a bad time?... You don't wanna' see me again, huh?" Ikkaku said miserably.

Yumichika was quick to stop him, holding up a hand, "No, no, that's not it- I really enjoyed tonight... I... I really like you, Ikkaku." Ikkaku smiled a little in relief, but it faded away as he noticed that Yumichika wasn't smiling back.

"Hey, don't be nervous, I'm not gonna' bite," Ikkaku said softly, brow furrowing, "Just tell me straight, an' I'll take it like a grown-up."

Yumichika nodded, taking a shaky breath, struggling to meet his eyes without breaking away. "I just want to tell you... That a cashier isn't my regular job... I'm an actor... I was actually doing quite well, and I got assigned for a movie... But, there's a reason I work at a grocery store now... And I need to tell you this before things progress further,"

"Okay..." Ikkaku felt anxious to ask if he could see him again soon, but decided to let Yumichika breathe a little. He could tell something was bothering him, "So what's up then..."

Yumichika cut to the chase, closing his eyes and tipping his head down a little, "I have a... significant other." And suddenly the floor just seemed to fall away from under Ikkaku. He literally could feel his heart crack inside his chest, because he was _the other woman_.

Hey, it's a figure of speech.

"What?" His voice sounded hollow in his ears, and he knew he looked crestfallen and helpless. Tch. He'd been stupid to think that Yumichika was really interested in him. _Obviously_, someone as great as Yumichika would have somebody special - there would be no way Ikkaku would be so lucky as to snatch him up before anyone else could. He'd let his hope carry him away again, _fuck._

"There's... There's someone else?" Damnit, now Ikkaku remembered why he didn't date - he didn't want to feel this feeling, this rejection and heart-pain, it was _torture._

"I know, that sounds bad doesn't it..."

"Heh, sure does," Ikkaku laughed falsely, just staring at Yumichika in crushed disbelief, "You... you got a boyfriend? So what... You said yes ta' me out of pity? I'm like yer' charity case?"

"Well, well, no-" Yumichika held up his hands as if he thought Ikkaku was going to get out of the car and leave in anger, "Let me explain. We're allowed to see other people... He," Yumichika then sighed in dejection, sinking into the driver's seat, "He, uhm... said he wanted an open relationship, so..."

Instead of becoming reassured like Yumichika had hoped, Ikkaku became more upset, now looking incredulous and hurt, "I'm your bounce-back, then? _Frick_, Yumichika, I thought you weren't serious when you said that thing about free food... That really stings," Ikkaku buried his face in his hands.

"No, no, I really like you," Yumichika tried to convince him, "I really like you... I haven't felt like this in... a very long time." He sighed, turning away. Ikkaku sat quiet for a few moments, looking at his hands, before he looked up with a fixed determination.

Nothing worth having came easy - and he'd been told for years that he made everything difficult. He smiled a little to himself. Yumichika was special, and therefore, he wouldn't be easy.

But that was okay. Ikkaku had been born a fighter.

"So... how is he like?"

Yumichika looked up at him in surprise, and instantly became wary, "You... want to know-"

"I'm not gonna' give up just like that, you idiot - I _like_ you," Ikkaku practically shouted, shoving Yumichika a little. Yumichika just stared at him in surprise, as if he'd thought that things were over, and Ikkaku was informing him that someone had been brought back from the dead.

"I just want to scope out the competition," Ikkaku said eagerly, turning in his seat towards him, "... How serious is it?... Do you live together?" he started, trying to make Yumichika meet his eyes and show him that he wasn't angry.

It wasn't that Yumichika was put off by Ikkaku's enthusiasm, he was just taken aback by it, not quite sure if it was genuine. "Not anymore... We've been together for quite some time, though... Uhm... His name is Kaa... He-"

"Like the snake?" Ikkaku asked incredulously.

"Like the snake," Yumichika repeated, smiling a little, "He uhm... He dyes his hair a lot; It's been every color under the sun, and at the moment it's maroon... wine colored, I suppose... Darker than Renji's... He... Uhm... Models, and... He-"

"Models for what? Underwear?" From the look on Yumichika's face, Ikkaku could tell he'd been right. Ikkaku grimaced. "Okay, I can't beat him at looks, or money... and he's probably an animal in the sack... So it's three ta' zero," Ikkaku grimaced a little.

Yumichika looked down a little, playing with his own hands.

"So, what's he like to ya'?"

"He... He has a big personality... and he's very charming and popular..." Yumichika began speaking almost mechanically then, "He's smart, and clever, and funny, and-"

"Yeah, but what does he _do_ for ya'?"

Yumichika looked at him blankly, "I don't know what you mean."

"Being good in bed can't be the only reason ya' like him... I mean like... What does he do to make you happy? What did he get you for your birthday?"

"Ahh," Yumichika scratched the back of his neck, "He actually..."

"Forgot your birthday, huh," Ikkaku said knowingly. "So he's got a big ego, and he's inconsiderate? Minus two points - It's one, one now."

"No, you have it all wrong, he's not _mean_," Yumichika defended him weakly, and Ikkaku went quiet even though he wanted to criticize this guy left and right. Yumichika obviously had some sort of feelings for him - he said they'd been together a long time, after all.

"Well then what is he? Tell me what you're tryin'a' tell me," Ikkaku tried to say it comfortingly, when really he was on the edge of his seat. He didn't want things to be over when they'd hardly started.

"He..." Yumichika took a deep breath then, making a pained face, "He doesn't... He has a hard time with... me being a guy, I think... When we lived together he had us sleep in seperate beds... All of that stuff that couples do, he didn't want to do with me - like hand holding or kissing or sweet names... even... I don't know, I knew him when he had girlfriends and he always did those things for them... It's like... maybe it's just _me_ that he has a problem with," Yumichika said sadly. "He just doesn't..."

"Pay you attention," Ikkaku finished, staring at him, feeling how dejected Yumichika felt just from looking at him. "He gives it to everyone but you, right?"

"Yeah..." Yumichika sighed, staring off into space.

"So he's off with other people then?"

"Yes," Yumichika said tightly as Ikkaku prodded at his wounds. He looked at him with narrowed eyes, as if to see where he was going with this.

"So he's got all the perks of bein' with you without having to commit," Ikkaku said, jaw setting. Just thinking about it made him kind of angry. Yumichika really was sweet, and he really liked him. He loved squabbling with him and being near him and laughing with him; he didn't understand how somebody could _not_ want to pay Yumichika attention.

He forced his pride down his throat and gathered his guts.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" Ikkaku said. Yumichika blinked and looked up in almost surprise, grimacing after a moment, "No, don't do that..." Ikkaku gently lifted his chin, rubbing his cheek a little, "You're so beautiful, it's almost hard to look straight at ya'... If I feel this lucky to have just a few hours with you... then this guy should be treating you like the morning star... Heh."

Ikkaku smiled crookedly, running the backs of his fingers over Yumichika's cheek. Yumichika just looked into his eyes, face blank. "You picked the one person in the world who can't see what he has? Now that ain't fair ta' you, huh?..."

"I don't," Yumichika said sharply, withdrawing from his warm fingers. "I don't give him perks-" He clarified when Ikkaku just stared at him. He grew defensive, coiling in on himself, crossing his arms and legs tightly. "That's why I moved out. He..." He seemed to deflate again, "didn't like that, and said he wanted to have an open relationship after that."

"So basically he's just lookin' ta' fuck other people and have you waiting for him," Ikkaku said bluntly. Yumichika didn't say anything, and he took that as his answer.

"Would you," Ikkaku tried to be more understanding, reaching out for Yumichika's hand, gently drawing it between his two palms, "Would you consider leaving him? I'd treat you good."

"I..." Yumichika looked uncomfortable but didn't withdraw his hand. His fingers twitched a little in the warm grip, as if they wanted so much to hold on and never let go. Ikkaku's heart was pounding; this was the moment of truth. "I don't really... Renji talks about you a lot, but I don't really know you," he said sensibly. "I know that we have this... I feel like I've known you a really long time, but I just met you this morning... You can't expect me to-"

"I get it, I get it-" Ikkaku said, "I'm just asking you to think about it, okay? I'm not saying I deserve you, cuz' I don't, but I _am_ saying that that ... _that_ definitely doesn't. I can see it right here," Ikkaku pointed at Yumichika's eyes. "He's upsettin' you. He's hurt yer' feelings... He's probably done you wrong a lot more than you're tellin' me... Hm?" Ikkaku prodded.

"It's not like he_ hits_ me," Yumichika said, trying to blow off Ikkaku's concern - he had stuttered a little, so Ikkaku had a sneaking suspicion that that wasn't entirely true.

Ikkaku held his face firmly then, to make him meet his eyes, "That's not the only way to hurt someone. Ever heard of emotional battery? If he's making you feel awful then he obviously doesn't respect you... Remember what I said about equals? It's why Renji 'n Ichigo are so damn happy together... You can't give someone so much if they're not returning it... You can't put someone on a pedastal, if they don't put you on one... or they'll be forced to look down at you."

Yumichika didn't say anything, but moved his face from Ikkaku's grip, turning away and staying silent for a few minutes.

"I'm... sorry I upset ya'," Ikkaku mumbled. "I didn't mean ta'... bring up anything painful."

"No, you're right, I know you're right. It's just hard to hear." Yumichika twiddled his thumbs a little, and then rubbed his hands together to try to get them warm. Ikkaku took one of them again and ran it between his hands. Yumichika looked up at him. "Maybe, I will... I mean... If you'd..."

"It would be an honor to have you, m'lady," Ikkaku said with a high-and-mighty-tone, teasing Yumichika to get a smile out of him. Inside he was reeling with happiness. Yumichika was ditching his lover for him? Yumichika was his _boyfriend._ He'd never had someone to be sweet on; It seemed that that short burst of courage it had taken to ask him out had been well worth it.

'_Ding, ding, ding, you have won the billionare jackpot!'_

_Fuck_, yeah.

"Alright, I'll try to call him right now," Yumichika said, seeming to lose a bit of confidence.

"Don't worry, 'm right here... Wait, you're not scared, are ya'?" Ikkaku said with growing concern - maybe Yumichika stayed with this guy, because he was frightened by him.

"No, I'm not afraid, I just," Yumichika grimaced, typing in the phone number and holding the screen up to his ear.

Ikkaku laced his fingers with Yumichika's free hand and squeezed lightly to send him some courage. After fourty seconds of ringing, Yumichika tried calling again, mentioning that he was probably busy. They busy 'in bed' part was left unsaid, but Ikkaku could hear the words hanging there.

Finally, Kaa picked up. "Hello? Nicholas?" Yumichika said timidly. Ikkaku could hear a little of the voice. Really smooth, moderately deep, and like Yumichika had said, it sounded overly charming and slightly insensitive - sort of like how Tony Stark talked: slightly-better-than-you, filled with quips and wit, and with a dash of arrogance.

"Nicholas?" Ikkaku mouthed, sounding confused. Maybe Kaa was the name this guy had picked to sound cooler - Like a stripper name, almost. Yumichika put a finger up to his mouth to tell Ikkaku not to say anything. "I need to talk to you... Yes, right now, it's important... Well, I'm sorry you're bus-"

Yumichika sighed a little, shaking his head with closed eyes as Kaa talked right over him. "I don't want to hear about that, I don't care how pretty she-" Yumichika seemed to lose paitence, and pinched his brow, getting snippy, "Nicholas, would you please listen to me?... Are you high right now?"

Ikkaku felt like grabbing the phone and screaming into this guy's ear, but he wanted Yumichika to handle this himself. Unresolved issues like this could haunt people for years.

"Listen... Listen... Will you listen?" The guy finally stopped talking, to let Yumichika get a word in, "I don't want to have an open relationship anymore."

Yumichika went quiet for a few moments, listening to Kaa's response. "I didn't say I was changing your mind or making you do anything, Nicholas... No, I'm not threatening you to get you back - I don't _want_ you back... I _said,_ I'm. Leaving. You."

Yumichika's hand slipped out of his, and he opened the car door and got out, walking a little ways away into the parking lot. Ikkaku could see that he was starting to get upset. "No, I'm not. No, just- _No,_ I'm not happy anymore, okay? I'm just not happy!" Ikkaku got out of the car and approached him slowly and with dread, realizing that Yumichika was near tears now.

"No, it's not about that... Who cares if I'm seeing someone, it's not like _you-_ No, I'm not throwing a fit, I can't deal with this, I don't know _what_ you want, or if you... No, _No_, Stop saying it's not over- It's over, it's over, I mean it!" Yumichika screamed into the phone after that, beginning to cry. Ikkaku took him by the shoulders, patting his back a little bit for support. Well, now he felt completely awful.

"No, I'm not coming back. - I'm not crying, _No_, I'm not - Well, you shouldn't have thought that I... Would you- I acted like I didn't care, because _you_ didn't care! What kind of person wants their lover to sleep with everyone but them?! NO! You don't pay any attention to me anymore, you never show me that you care, _never, _Nicholas!"

Yumichika ran a hand through his hair in frustration, starting to cry harder, so much that he could hardly speak, "I've been hanging around you for years just _wasting my life_ waiting for you to get tired of playing around and come back to me... What? No- You give affection to everyone but me, what's so wrong with _me?_ What's wrong with _me_ that you can't stand being around me anymore if I'm not naked, huh?"

Yumichika was stomping his feet now and hiccuping as he cried, "No_, stop_ saying that- I'm done with you, you missed your chance. I'm done with all of you and your shit! You dog, you fucking dog, I hate you! You gave me an STI, you crashed my car, you got me fired, I hate you, I hate you, _I hate you!_ You never think about anyone but yourself, and you've ruined my life! No-" Yumichika went quiet then, stopping in his cries abruptly, breathing heavily.

"Shut up. No, I'm not... No, stop it," his face crumpled, and Ikkaku distinctly heard the word 'faggot', "Don't talk to me that way. I... I don't _care_, just keep them. I never want to see you again, you stupid fuck," he sniffled, wiping his eyes. Ikkaku could hear the guy shouting now. "I'm hanging up." And Yumichika did, and immediately he covered his emotions under a blank face, sniffing a little as he put his phone in his pocket.

He looked up at Ikkaku, and even though his eyes were red and puffy, Ikkaku thought he looked so beautiful out in the moonlight. Ikkaku didn't bother asking if he needed a hug - he just approached him slowly and wrapped him in his arms, holding him close to his chest.

He rested his chin atop his head and stroked his hair a little, rocking him from side to side. After Yumichika had recovered from the shock and relaxed from his stiff surprise, he melted and clung to him, crying onto his shirt, shoulders shaking.

"Shhh," Ikkaku took him under the armpits and hefted him into his arms like a child, letting him wrap his legs around his waist and his arms around his neck. He carried him back to the car and sat them in the back seat.

After a few more minutes, Yumichika pulled himself together, moving out of Ikkaku's lap to sit next to him. He was crying silently now, biting his lips as tears rolled from his violet eyes. Ikkaku felt guilt roiling in his stomach, because he could _see_ how much pain Yumichika was in.

"I made a mess of your shirt, I'm so sorry, you must be disgusted," he said with a wobbly, raw voice. Ikkaku didn't even look down at himself to see the mess of snot and tears. He didn't care about that.

_"I'm_ so sorry you had to go through all that... I hope I didn't... make you make a decision you'll regret."

"No..." Yumichika said, lip quivering, "It was a long time coming. I've been meaning to do it for a long time." He sighed then, trying to calm down, shaking with those involuntary hiccup-breaths that follow a crying fit.

"Here, come closer," Ikkaku said, putting his arm around him. "You're shaking," he said in surprised concern. Yumichika hiccuped, weeping quietly to himself. "I know you're hurting... and I know that... this is all moving really fast... I don't expect you to make any decision while you're-" He cut off when Yumichika wrapped his arms around his middle and held him tightly.

"Thank you... Thank you," Yumichika whispered in a cracked voice. "I know you thought this wasn't a very good date, but it's the best one I've been on. You're... you're so nice. I really want to get to know you better. I hope you'll call me again." Yumichika began clinging to him, as if he thought this was the last time he'd see Ikkaku.

"Of course I will..." Ikkaku blushed a little and settled his arms around Yumichika's trembling form. "Are ya'... are ya' gonna' be okay... like, I don't wanna' leave you alone if you're gonna' ... like kill yourself or something." He rubbed Yumichika's back awkwardly, patting him for comfort. Damn, those tears were horrible to watch.

"No... I feel better," Yumichika sniffed, searching for some napkins in his car so he could blow his nose, "Ick... You probably don't find me very pretty anymore... -weak, and crying like an idiot..."

"No, no," Ikkaku said dead serious, holding his shoulders, "You listen to me. Nobody should have to put up with what you did. You're stronger than me, Yumichika. Don't doubt yourself. And didn't I tell ya' you were beautiful?" as if what he said was beautiful simply was, and was an incontestable fact.

"You're very kind," Yumichika said a little miserably, leaning his head onto Ikkaku's shoulder. "Can I see you again? I can see you again, right?"

"Of course..." Ikkaku said, patting his shoulder a little. "I feel bad... I made'ja' cry on our first date... That's supposed to be a bad sign."

Yumichika sniffed one last time, "I had fun, I really did, Ikkaku. I'm glad that I came with you. You gave me some bravery."

"Well, good... Are you tired? You ready to go home?"

"Are you sleepy?" Yumichika looked up at him with concern. Ikkaku shook his head.

"I just thought you'd be worn out after that... What do _you_ feel like?"

"I just feel like sitting here with you for a while... If that's okay." Ikkaku nodded and settled into the back seat.

"Tomorrow's Saturday," he stretched out his legs and cuddled up to Yumichika. "You don't got work on Saturday, do ya'?"

"No."

"We could go to the park. If ya' want, I mean. Tomorrow will be better, and I promise I won't make ya' cry again," Yumichika gave a watery smile. "I gotta' paint my apartment, you could... Well, I don't wanna' like make you work or nothin', but you could come keep me company, and then we could walk around in the park for awhile? Then ya' can get ta' know me some more." Yumichika seemed to find his voice soothing, so he talked more about what they could do, just to calm him down.

After a few minutes, Yumichika's breath started to even out, and he leaned his head onto Ikkaku's shoulder. Ikkaku smiled and pulled him closer. "- Second time's the charm, hopefully. Plan sound good to ya'?"

"That sounds nice," Yumichika seemed to settle in next to him, "That sounds really nice... I don't know if this is creepy to say, but... how funny would it be to tell people a year from now that we basically got together because of Renji and Ichigo's condoms?"

Ikkaku busted out laughing and started tickling the shit out of Yumichika.


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN** IMPORTANT PSA -_

- I forgot how much I enjoy Renji and Ichigo together - A few of this story's readers have told me that they started reading it because of the promise of Ren-Ichi, and that they like how I write them - Soooo...

I'm going to make a concerted effort to include them, so that I can get good at writing them again, and also so I can widen the plot and make more readers happy, ha-ha.

Sadly, I don't have an idea for _how_ to include them yet. I could use some suggestions or help brainstorming on how to include them in the plot (Maybe something to do with night school and Renji's worrying - And _KAAAAAA_, the weirdo, who makes his first appearance in here. I'm thinking about having him maybe do some sort of meddling with Yumichika-Ikkaku's relationship _and_ with Renji-Ichigo. Overall, he's just gonna' be the life-ruiner.)

* * *

. . .

"Hey! Ya' still feel like comin' over, hot stuff?" Ikkaku asked eagerly, holding the phone between his shoulder and cheek, pulling some sandwich ingredients out of his fridge. The phone was cold on his bare skin, and he began shivering as the fridge air hit his still-wet chest.

He just needed a quick snack for some extra energy, before he'd get back to painting.

Maybe it would be a good idea to show Yumichika that he could take care of him. His fighting career was going pretty well, and he was making quite a bit of money - so he'd have no problem protecting Yumichika from crazy ex's or catcalls.

He could cook moderately well and kept his house clean - he could wash dishes and clothes, he could take care of kids and sick people, and on top of that he could build pretty much anything.

He didn't want Yumichika to think he was some useless muscle head - he wanted to be the best thing that ever happened to him.

"I'm not hot. I'm cool," Yumichika said flatly, voice a little listless and wispy.

Ikkaku couldn't find it in him to laugh at his joke. He sounded kind of sick, "Oh geez, you don't sound so good. Are you okay?"

"I'm feeling a little miserable…" Yumichika's voice came grainily through the receiver, sounding like he needed to cough. Ikkaku was at least happy about the fact that he hadn't lied and reflexively said 'I'm fine'. It was progress, even if only a little bit. "I'm still a little… uhh, mopey. From yesterday."

"Aw, I'm sorry, sweetheart. Ya' need me ta' come take care a' ya'?" He put some bread in the toaster and started chopping lettuce and onions. "Ya' need anything, just say so. I'll say 'how high' and frickin'... 'silver platter' and all that..."

"No, no, that's all right… I'd still like to come visit, if that's okay? I understand if it's too early to invite me into your home-" Ikkaku gave a 'pssh', waving a hand even though Yumichika couldn't see it.

"I invited you last night; yer' not imposing. Ya' comin' today or tomorrow? Cuz' I'm busy tomorrow, I got my god-daughter's baptism ta' go to. If you're not busy, maybe you could come to that too?"

"Um, I can come today, if it's not too short of notice," Yumichika said a little tentatively, "And maybe tomorrow too; It'd be nice to meet some of your family."

Ikkaku didn't like how nervous and shy he sounded - Ichigo and Renji had given him the impression that Yumichika had used to have this tremendous sense of pride and vanity, - more like how he'd acted the day they had met, snarky and confident - but now... he was really self-conscious. Perhaps it was just a remnant of the breakup, Ikkaku didn't know, but he definitely didn't like it.

"Sweet, I'll come pick ya' up if ya' want-"

"I'll drive myself, just tell me your address."

"Suna Apartment complex… Ah… Room 621? You could check it on Google maps if it'd help."

"Oh, okay, I'll do that. When should I come over?"

"As soon as yer' ready – I can't wait ta' see ya'," Ikkaku grinned. He could almost see Yumichika's blush just by the slight silence. "Put on some clothes you won't mind wearing outside or getting paint on them, okay?"

"But you wanted to go on a walk... Won't you be embarrassed if we have to go outside? If I dress in paint clothes, I mean?"

"Nah, no way, babe. I can't wait ta' show you off."

"... Well, alright, I'll come over in about half an hour. Is that good?"

"It's great – See ya' soon, Yumi-chu. I'll be waitin'."

"Bye, Ikkaku." Ikkaku grinned - He could hear the smile in Yumichika's voice.

* * *

"Hey," Ichigo yawned, nudging Renji, who was hugging him tightly with his sleeping face pressed into his stomach. "Ren-shinku. _Hey,"_ Ichigo half-called sleepily, still a little disoriented, as if he didn't know exactly where his boyfriend was and was worried he'd gotten lost or fallen out the window - even though he could plainly feel the behemoth attached to his middle.

He yawned again, rubbing his eyes, looking down at the leech on his waist with a blank face that sort of said 'oh, there you are.'

In the night Renji had squirmed down the mattress so far that his feet were hanging off of the bed - he'd pulled up Ichigo's cotton-t-shirt to put his cheek on the warm skin. "Hey, wake up-" Ichigo prodded him a little, running his fingers through his soft red hair, which was all over the place.

"Mmmhg-mghr," Renji mumbled, eyes flickering a couple times before he drifted back to sleep again.

"C'mon, get up, lazy-ass," Ichigo nudged him again, "You're drooling into my belly-button," he gave up on moving Renji, mumbling something about him being like a cat who can't be moved when they fall asleep on something.

Suddenly Renji pinned him to the bed and blew a raspberry on his stomach, causing him to emit a high pitched screech and a full-body spasm. He almost kicked Renji in the crotch, thrashing around laughing as Renji tickled the daylights out of him.

Ichigo tried to scramble away, almost falling head-first off the bed, but Renji yanked him back towards him by the ankle, tickling his skinny ribs. The orange-head shoved him away, wriggling like a drowning person, but Renji latched onto his wrist, pulling him right back into his bare chest. Renji noogied him a little and kissed his cheek, "Mornin', ya' butt."

"I thought you were sleepy," Ichigo pouted a little as he pulled his shirt down over his stomach, embarrassed at the high-pitched scream he'd been unable to control. He made a show of wiping the kiss off, and crossed his arms - Renji raised his eyebrows at that.

"I am," Renji said, and he was - Ichigo felt bad about it, because there were big dark circles under his eyes. He'd stayed up almost all night studying for his differential equations course - he had his heart set on becoming a mechanic, just as Ichigo was fixated on becoming a doctor.

Renji scowled just thinking about it - Fucking Ichigo and his fucking night school and his fucking inability to spend time with him. Hmph.

"Well, sorry," Ichigo said, brow pinching in concern - Renji was sitting there with this dull, blank expression, kind of like a zombie - he could tell Renji was on the verge of falling asleep again just sitting there, because the scowl had melted off his face and his eye lids were drooping. "Ren-chu... _Hey,_" he snapped his fingers in front of his face and turned Renji's head to make him look at him. The big dork.

"We we gotta' go grocery shopping - the fridge is empty." _That_ woke Renji up.

He looked at Ichigo with this paranoid expression as if he had just told him that the world was ending or that he had only sixty days left to live. Oh no, not the _food__!_ But Renji then gave a loud 'Pssh' and waved his hand. "It's not _all the way_ empty. Can't we last the weekend?"

Ichigo looked at him strangely, having a completely different idea of what real food was. As far as he was concerned, two week old shrimp on crackers was not a meal.

"Unless you want to eat ketchup for dinner tonight. Or shrimp that's about to turn."

"It's not gone bad, babe, it's got a couple days left."

"As appealing as hepatitis sounds, yellow is just not my color."

"You're stupid," Renji said after a moment, unable to think of a come back after just waking up.

"I'm not takin' care of you if you get food poisoning." _That_ was a freakin' lie. "The fact remains that even if we did eat the tainted shrimp, there's not enough to feed both of us. We're going to the grocery store," he said, as if his decision was final.

"We can't go today, Yumichika doesn't work on weekends." Renji said it as if his argument made perfect sense, and Ichigo tried to remind himself that Renji was sleep-deprived and that he might get cranky if he wasn't patient with him.

"Renji," he said in a tone he'd use with a little kid, "You know there was a time when we could go grocery shopping on weekends perfectly fine. Before he worked there."

"Yeah, but it's not the same now," Renji whined, trying to snuggle back up to Ichigo. Ichigo tolerated it for a few seconds before it became obvious that Renji was feeling him up. "Mmmmm, you're extra handsome this morning."

"Shut your tattooed-ass up," Ichigo whined, shoving him off. "Go eat some cereal, we're going to the store."

Renji pouted a little at the rejection, and Ichigo turned around so he wouldn't see his smile - Renji's hair was all fucked up and it was frickin' cute. "We _could_ go in the afternoon," Renji said sulkily.

"You have ta' study, dear," Ichigo said patiently. Then he stiffened up as he realized what he had just said, "I'm gonna' hit you so hard if you give me that shit-eating grin - you call me all the stupid-fucking things you want-" Renji grabbed him and turned him around, kissing him to shut him up.

"Love you, stupid-ass-workaholic-moron," Renji mumbled into his mouth, holding his face.

"Hmmm, love you too, you fucking dorky-cheese-head," Ichigo sighed, stress seeping out of his frame. _Sweet,_ that meant that stressed Ichigo had turned into happy Ichigo, which was also _lenient_ Ichigo, which was also less-serious-arguments-and-less-_cranky_ Ichigo - Which resulted in happy _Renji._

And also more junk-food and sexual favors.

Renji put his hands on his hips and picked him up, letting Ichigo wrap his legs around his waist. Renji stood there for a few moments with his eyes open a little, smiling into Ichigo's lips as his orange-haired lover held his face and tried to sweep his long hair out of the way with his eyes closed.

Ichigo tried to deepen the kiss, but Renji sealed his mouth, "No tongue in the morning-" he reminded him. Ichigo looked disappointed for a moment before leaning back with a brilliant smile.

Fuck, that smile got Renji weak in the knees - every time he saw it he was reminded of why he'd fallen in love with this idiot. He was fucking _perfect._

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Ichigo grinned a little more, that special open smile that he saved just for him. Renji bit his ear a little, grinning like a dork. "Hey," Ichigo said, still with that fucking innocent facial expression that got Renji all blushy n' shit. As cute as Ichigo was when he was stressed out and scowling, Renji freaking _loved_ when he relaxed and got like this.

Ichigo was seldom carefree and happy these days - his night classes really stressed him out - and it really worried Renji sometimes. Ichigo had been losing weight and hadn't been sleeping well.

He was seeing that smile less and less as time went by, and he was starting to wonder if Ichigo was even happy being with him anymore. Stress does lots of damaging shit to people, and he was starting to think it might be better if Ichigo didn't have to waste his time worrying about him.

Thoughts like that really fucked with his mind. Because he didn't know if he'd be able to make that sacrifice, even if it was the best thing for Ichigo.

"Yeah, baby?" He tried to say it lightly, not wanting to destroy this precious moment where Ichigo was smiling like that. He couldn't let him know; he couldn't let him see how much this had been eating at him.

Ichigo could check out of his life as easily as a hotel room.

"We should watch some movies tonight. I have the night off from my classes - That's why I thought we should shop now, so you could study this afternoon. I'll make some snacks while you work, and then we'll eat them with the movies. Or we could play marioparty."

And just like that, all of his fears melted away. What was he talking about, Ichigo _loved_ him. Being paranoid wasn't helping anything. Maybe all that shit was true, that Ichigo would be better off without him, but he could still value this time that he had right now.

He loved the fucking idiot like he was an angel sent from god. He didn't take him for granted for one second.

Maybe Ichigo could feel that - maybe that was why he put up with all his childish behavior and his jealousy and his messiness. Maybe Ichigo knew in his heart, that Renji would give absolutely anything for him.

Renji smiled, nuzzling Ichigo's cheek a little. He smelled like home.

Ichigo was looking at him with a little concern, as if he could sense Renji's upset and unease. Renji was quick to blow it off, going back to teasing him a little, hugging his thin upper body close to him, urging Ichigo wrap his legs tighter around his waist.

He gave a shit-eating grin. "A party. Sounds good - Maybe I can get you drunk enough to suck my-"

"Shh," Ichigo put a finger on his lips, grinning before leaning in again to kiss him hard, "Mmmm." Renji started to get into it, thinking about breaking the no-tongue rule just this once, because he needed to get Ichigo closer to him.

But Ichigo backed away, kissing him on the nose with _bird_ lips that were so freakin' cute Renji wanted to punch something. "Mwah," Ichigo said with a smile, before he hopped down from Renji's arms, throwing his shirt off and into Renji's face.

"Rawr," Renji grinned doggishly. Ichigo flashed those straight white teeth at him again, before tearing off down the hallway - Renji chased him into the bathroom, stopping just short enough to avoid having the door slam in his face and break his nose. "You are a fucking tease, Ichigo," he said with too much laughter in his voice for Ichigo to think that he was truly angry.

"Always with the whining-" Ichigo teased back.

"Hey, I can't figure out some perfect trick ta' get you in the sack that'll work every time, like you got fer' me - Of course I'm whi-" Ichigo opened the door and threw his boxers in Renji's face.

"I can always get you in the sack, because you always _want_ to be in the sack." Ichigo blew a raspberry just as Renji got a hold of his senses again. Ichigo waved at him, giving his naked body a little wriggle.

Now he remembered why he'd bought pajama pants that were this loose - they needed a lot of room otherwise the seams would be broken within a week.

"Damnit-!" Renji tried to grab him again, but Ichigo slammed and locked the door, laughing at him.

Eh whatever, Ichigo couldn't keep him from sleeping a little longer this way.

* * *

"Hey," Ikkaku grinned, opening the door and ushering Yumichika into his apartment. "Welcome, n' shit."

Yumichika laughed a little bit, taking an exaggerated breath as he slipped off his sandals. He walked to the middle of the room, twirling in a circle to show off his painting clothes. Ikkaku gave a little whistle, taking his hand so he could twirl himself again slowly. Ikkaku gently raised their connected hands to rotate Yumichika back into his arms.

He hugged him for a couple seconds. "Missed ya' already, you little dork," he said affectionately. "You doin' okay? I was worried about' ya'."

"I'm feeling a bit better now that I'm here."

"Good. You look nice by the way," Ikkaku said, cheeks a little pink as if he'd seriously toned down his compliment - he was still getting used to all this vulnerability shit.

Yumichika had on an old blue t-shirt with a huge tacky sunflower on the front, that was wrinkled and a too big for him - his jeans were tight and had rips and stains on them - Ikkaku thought he was absolutely beautiful, he looked like he was fuckin' _glowing._

"Thank you," Yumichika smiled, looking at his bare feet. "You look like Mr. Clean shirtless." Ikkaku blinked, eyebrow twitching, before he grabbed Yumichika and noogied his head.

"Shut up, you smartass," he said with laughter in his voice. "Whatcha' thinka' my apartment? I just moved in a little while ago," Ikkaku grinned excitedly, looking around at the half-painted walls.

It was a pre-furnished apartment, and obviously the furniture was worn out and really ugly - Ikkaku hadn't gotten around to buying some nicer things for himself since his wrestling checks had started coming in. Almost immediately, Yumichika mentioned the paint-smell, so he opened a couple windows and turned on his fan.

"It's quite nice, there's a lot of space. Do you plan on having a pet?"

"Eh... A fish, maybe." Yumichika smiled, saying that he had a cat.

"So," Ikkaku said, holding his bare arms out, noticing all too keenly, Yumichika's interested eyes on his muscles. "Ya' like tha' color?"

"It's beautiful," Yumichika replied readily, still looking at Ikkaku. "You've gotten quite a bit on yourself, you clumsy idiot." He pointed at Ikkaku, giggling. Ikkaku looked down at himself, twisting to try to look at his own back.

"Eh, it's my first time," Ikkaku grinned, setting his paint roller down on the plastic tarp. "I think I'm gonna' fuck up the molding, I don't have the patience for that tedious shit."

"Maybe I could do it?" Yumichika smiled, "I've never done it before, but I'm good at... tedious shit." Ikkaku looked at him for a minute before he started laughing lowly. Yumichika grinned wider. "I'm serious, I'll do it."

"Oh yeah, sure. What do you think'll look good in contrast to tha' walls?" Ikkaku turned around, looking at the light blue he'd picked out. He'd had to use a steamer to get the old wallpaper off, and that had been a chore - he'd burnt himself a ton of times and sworn enough that he'd gotten a few knocks on his door.

"Hm," Yumichika walked around his living room, looking at all the cloth-covered furniture that was shoved into the hallway. "Maybe a dark grey... or white... What color is your couch?"

"Oh, I'm gonna' put that thing in storage and get all new furniture - it's this shitty plaid print that came with the apartment." Yumichika wrinkled his nose and actually put a hand over his heart as if to say _'barbarians'_. Ikkaku could've sworn that Yumichika had literally gagged at the thought of such an ugly sofa.

"Good idea... Of course you can't just burn the apartment furniture, I don't know what I was thinking... Ikea has some nice things."

"Yeah, I was planning on going there. I'll probably need Renji's help, since he has a pickup truck... I'm no good at setting up rooms though, so it's probably gonna' look fucked up in here." Yumichika started laughing - he seemed to appreciate Ikkaku's profanity for some reason. Ikkaku suspected it had something to do with brutal honesty.

Ikkaku wiped some sweat off his forehead, "Hey uhh... Listen, I've been painting for a while, so maybe while the room airs out, we can go walk around? Maybe get somethin' ta' eat? I'd make ya' somethin' ta' eat here, but... these fumes are gettin' ta' me. We can walk through the strip mall."

"You need a break? That sounds nice."

"Great," Ikkaku grinned, climbing over the covered furniture and walking down the hall with Yumichika hesitantly following. "I just gotta' wipe this paint off before I put my shirt back on."

"Okay, should I-... Should I wait here?" Yumichika said, not feeling right about invading Ikkaku's privacy, knowing that they were coming closer to his bedroom.

"Ah, actually I can't reach my back," Ikkaku said, demonstrating - Indeed, his muscles were too big for him to be able to reach an area of his back. "If it's okay, can ya' just wipe it off?" Ikkaku got a washcloth from one of his kitchen drawers and ran it under the sink. "Here ya' go,"

Yumichika bit his lip, eyes flicking over the view of Ikkaku leaning against the counter.

_Wow._

Kaa might've been extremely good-looking, enough so that he'd become a model, but Yumichika understood how rare it was for someone to be _this_ in shape. Ikkaku's back was cobra-shaped, tan and flecked with paint, and he had a tool belt on, making him look like some construction worker sex fantasy- Ikkaku grabbed a pear from the fruit bowl on the counter, taking a bite of it absently.

Yumichika realized he'd been standing there for a few seconds, and approached, skating his cool fingertips over Ikkaku's skin as he wiped with his other hand. He realized that the paint and plaster dust was really stuck on there, so he actually had to scrub a little bit. Ikkaku twitched.

"Oh, is it raw?"

"No, it's just... cold." Ikkaku laughed a little - it sounded kind of nervous. Yumichika put a hand on his shoulder... He was so warm.

"Alright, turn around," he asked softly. Ikkaku did, and Yumichika's core tightened up for a second. Ikkaku was _ripped_. He felt like he was touching a living-breathing playgirl advertisement.

He cleaned Ikkaku's front off in silence, unable to meet his eyes, more focused on Ikkaku's chest muscles and the texture of his skin. It was nice - he was so warm, and even though the muscles were hard, the skin gave enough that it would be comfortable to maybe use his stomach as a pillow-

Yumichika snatched his own hand away, turning around to avoid showing his blush and dilated eyes. Kaa had always had skin like marble... cold and beautiful and flawless. Ikkaku was scarred, and rugged - and radiated heat like the sun.

He felt like his heart was melting when he turned and saw Ikkaku's signature grin - wide, manic, and crazed.

He grinned back, giving a short laugh. This idiot really was crazy - that was the only explanation - but the sparkle in his eyes and the honesty behind everything he did was bringing Yumichika back to earth.

If kindness and warmth and Ikkaku were crazy, if _love_ was crazy - then maybe Yumichika would willingly put on a straight jacket and sign himself over to an asylum ward - just so he could keep this _fire_.

Because he wanted this more than anything he'd ever wanted before.


	6. Chapter 6

_Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang-_

"Renji?! Renji? Hey, someone's knocking!... Renji?!"

_Bang Bang Bang Bang-_

"Yeah?"

"Can ya' get tha' door? I'm in the shower!"

"I know yer' in the shower, I'm gettin' it." Renji yawned, scratching his bare stomach. He shuffled to their apartment door in his pajama pants, frowning when the mystery person began to knock even louder and faster, like they were hitting both fists on the door. How old was this guy, like five?

No, a little kid wasn't tall enough to knock where the stranger was hitting the door. Seriously? This was an adult? Renji scratched his head - It probably wasn't the landlord: Sweet little old lady who brought them baked goods from time to time. Moreover, it probably wasn't one of the neighbors; They only knocked when they had people over and started getting too loud.

After a moment of confusion, Renji bent slightly to look through the peephole at who was _still_ hammering away at their inner door. At least he _hoped _it was the inner door. If the stranger was knocking on the 'porch' door, they'd probably punched the bug-screen right out of it.

He closed one eye and looked through the little peephole, careful not to put his face up against the door, lest he be punched by the knocker.

_'Oh fuck.'_

He tore ass back through his apartment, busting into the bathroom with a heavy kick to the door, breaking the lock right open. He yanked aside the shower curtain, shouting like a maniac, "ICHIGO!"

Ichigo screamed, hands flying over his naked body in reflex. After a moment of silence, he started swearing at the top of his lungs, punching Renji everywhere he could reach for scaring him. They'd recently watched 'Psycho', and Renji had freaked him out so much that he'd literally almost peed.

Renji turned off the water, and Ichigo punched him again, turning it back on, yelling something about privacy and that he still had soap in his hair. Renji just grabbed Ichigo and tried to drag him out of the shower, chucking towels at him and telling him to get dressed, because fucking-_Kaa_ was outside of their house.

Ichigo immediately stopped shouting at him and gave him a 'no way in hell you're telling me the truth' look. Renji just stared at him as Ichigo pointed a thumb vaguely over his shoulder, listening to the knocking which was _still_ going on.

"He _is._ Get dressed," Renji demanded, even though he himself was still shirtless, and now partially damp from manhandling Ichigo.

"What does he want?" Ichigo said incredulously, still just _standing_ there - Renji sighed and started toweling him off.

"I don't know yet." Kaa was _still_ fucking knocking.

"You gonna' deal with it?"

"Yeah,"

He jogged back through the house, undoing the safety lock, and opening the door. Renji scowled at the man. There he was - that smirking-shit - with his hand still extended like he wanted to keep pounding on the door.

"Oh hey there, Renji," the overly-handsome guy grinned, leaning one hand on the door frame, putting the other on his hip. Renji grimaced. He couldn't _believe_ that Yumichika had ever dated this guy. It looked like his head was on fire.

Fucking Kaa. Him and his straight teeth and his clear skin and his gelled-up hair. Renji looked down his nose at him, ignoring the sounds coming from within the house behind him.

Ichigo was trying to yank on some sweatpants, and had to sit down in the hallway to avoid tripping himself in his hurry. Renji could tell - from the look on Kaa's face - that Ichigo was plainly visible from the doorway. Kaa started smiling that smug grin, raising an eyebrow. Oh _hell_ no.

Renji _shoved_ Kaa further back so he could close the door a little to hide Ichigo and his wet-half-nakedness from sight. No way was he letting this womanizing creep take a peek at _his boyfriend._

Gah, this guy made him furious. He didn't seem to realize the meaning of fidelity, or even plain respect. Renji had been over to Yumichika and Kaa's apartment back when they'd lived together. This guy had posters of naked women in his room, he had nasty triple-x videos all over the house, and he had made it a habit to flirt with women in front of Yumichika. He was a complete and utter dee-bag.

Renji had always hated players, but this guy was seriously on his shit-list.

It was bad enough that this guy had had sex with Yumichika. Now he was giving Ichigo that _look_, just to tick him off. Renji wanted to freaking punch him in the mouth and mess up his perfectly straight teeth. He hated Kaa, because a big part of him _liked_ Kaa; he was charming and cool and interesting and stuff, and it made him fucking angry, because he knew that was how Kaa got away with so much shit.

Kaa was smirking now, raising his eyebrows. Ichigo had seemed to have changed his mind about coming to the door, because Renji heard the fridge open. Okay, so Ichigo trusted him to deal with things and make Kaa leave. Alright, he could do that no problem.

"What," he said flatly, not bothering with playing this guy's little game of dancing around the issue. Renji stared Kaa down without blinking, knowing that this shit made him uncomfortable - and that was what he wanted. He was done with this guy, _completely fucking done_. He'd turned Yumichika into this broken thing with no pride, and it was painful to see.

Kaa had come here for one reason, and one reason only. It had something to do with Yumichika - and possibly something to do with Ikkaku, if he knew about last night. Renji wasn't giving Kaa any leeway. He'd either say what he wanted, or he could back down and leave.

Yumichika really needed someone like Ikkaku, and Renji wasn't going to let this fucker mess things up again.

And besides that, Kaa had already been completely lewd and disrespectful in regard to his boyfriend after only ten seconds of the door being open. Renji's patience had already run thin. This guy had better get to the point before he put him in a headlock.

"Aw, why so unfriendly?" Kaa grinned, clearly wanting to sweet talk him into changing his mind about his harsh attitude. There had been a time where Renji had wanted to befriend him, but those days were over and done with. He saw him for what he was now: Perhaps not malicious, but an insensitive-manipulative-self-absorbed-sneak.

"Cut the bullshit, Kaa, what do you want, we're busy."

"So I gathered," Kaa licked his lips like some fucking snake, raising his eyebrows at their states of undress. "Sorry to interrupt, I'll be sure to let the neighbors know that no one's being murdered, you're just getting fucked up the-"

Renji _swung_ on that bastard, just missing his face; He was _not_ gonna' take this guy's lip. Kaa knew he was pushing it and had been ready to duck. He backed up, holding his hands up in surrender, "Hey, hey, no need for hostility, I just need a favor."

Renji had lost his patience and was pointing in Kaa's face, growling lowly, "You can do _me_ a favor and jump off the balcony."

"C'mon man, it's quick, an' it's an emergency." The guy slipped his sunglasses down, and held out a piece of paper and a pen. "Can you write down Yummy's address?"

Renji snarled at him, "It's _'You-Me', _don't you fuckin' pull that shit with me-"

Kaa talked right over him, grinning widely, chewing his gum like this conversation was something ordinary and amusing, "-I left my little sister's inhaler over there on accident, and I need it back. It's urgent."

"Who put all this shit on the grocery list?!" Ichigo shouted from inside the apartment, knowing that it couldn't have been anyone but Renji. Apparently he'd finished scavenging for food and was writing down what they needed from the store, "Do you wanna' get fat?!"

Renji ignored him, pinching his brow and closing his eyes. "Dude, _no_," he answered to Kaa, trying to shut the door on him, but Kaa stuck his boot in the way.

"Aw, c'mon now, ya' don't wanna' be responsible for a little girl's asthma attack, do ya'?"

"I can't help ya', I'm sorry." Renji moved his hair out of his eyes, looking to the left at the railing and the open view of the city. The wind ruffled Kaa's hair, but it somehow stayed perfectly spiked up. Renji let out a breath, looking at the flower boxes their neighbors had put out. Maybe he could make Kaa eat some dirt and then pitch him over the railing to his miserable death.

Nah, if he got arrested for murder, Ichigo would kick his ass to mars.

"You're okay with that on your conscience?" Kaa raised his eyebrows, smirking. "It's not gonna' haunt ya' at night? The thought of a poor little girl choking and coughing because you didn't let me get her medicine? Hmmmmm?"

"..." Fuck. Renji scowled, thinking of Yuzu and Karin - how would he feel if something like that happened to _them?_ Even if Kaa was an asshole, that didn't mean his little sister should suffer because of his pettiness. Ugh. The guy had found his weak spot, and from his smug grin, he knew it too. When this guy had a motive, he really knew how to twist people to his will.

Like some sucky cartoon villain that just needed a few punches to send them running for the hills.

Renji cracked his knuckles.

"It'll take two secs, just do me this solid-"

"You are one deaf asshole,"

"C'mon, man."

This went on for a few minutes, and Kaa insisted enough that Renji eventually gave in to get him to leave.

By the time he'd shut the door, leaning against it and letting out a slow breath, he could hear Kaa humming a little as he jogged down the steps of their building.

"I like coffee, I like tea, I like the boys and the boys like me," Renji could hear just as the guy left. Kaa really creeped him out sometimes, he really hoped Yumichika would break things off with him soon.

Ichigo was in their little kitchenette, pouring himself a glass of milk, which he'd miraculously found a can of in the cupboard. "So what did he... uh..." Ichigo gave it a cautious taste. "What did he want?"

Renji made doubly sure to lock the door. He felt ill at ease after that, like someone was up to no good and they were the targets. "He needed Yumichika's address to go get his sister's asthma medicine, or something."

Renji jumped out of his skin when the glass shattered on the floor of the kitchen. "Fuck!" Renji shouted in surprise, grabbing his chest. Ichigo was looking at him in horror, not even concerned with the glass fragments and milk all over his feet.

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Ichigo asked frantically, face pale.

"Holy shit, Ichigo don't move, there's glass all over! You look like you've seen a ghost," he jogged over to him and scooped him up, setting him on the counter so he could clean up the mess without having to worry about Ichigo's feet getting sliced up.

"_Renji," _Ichigo moaned in panic, trying to get his attention. His mind was racing. Kaa's sister had _died_ last year - Yumichika had come back from the funeral with a pale face and shaky hands. She had been so young. It had been right before Kaa had gotten Yumichika into that car accident.

On top of that - If Kaa had left her medicine at Yumichika's apartment, it meant he'd been there before - which he hadn't, because he'd needed the address. He'd conned it out of Renji, using his dead sister as an excuse... That didn't sit particularly well with Ichigo; He would never in a million years use his mother for something like that.

This guy... Ichigo didn't particularly like Kaa - He wasn't exactly _malicious_, but he didn't seem to have normal human emotions. They'd always called Yumichika vain, but this guy was a real narcissist. He was manipulative, insensitive, and completely self-centered. Sometimes Ichigo would wonder what he was capable of, and it really scared him to think that Yumichika had been stuck alone with this guy for a long time.

He looked up to Renji in horror. "You told him. You told him, didn't you?"

"Holy shit, you're so pale, what's wrong?" Renji was gathering the large glass fragments into a pile, squatting on a glass-free kitchen tile. He touched Ichigo's foot, looking up at him in concern.

"Yumichika _moved, _he didn't want Kaa to know his address. He was trying to get away from him. You can't put anything past this guy - He's probably found a way to swipe Yumichika's key and have a copy made-"

Renji stood up so fast he got whiplash, "Oh my god,"

* * *

'_I'm not home right now, I'm out on a date! As of 12:15, I will be gone for an undetermined amount of time. I'll be back by tomorrow at least! In case of emergency call: - - - - - -'_

Kaa grinned widely, grabbing the note off of Yumichika's door and crumpling it in his fist.

"Gone fishin' huh? Sorry baby, once yer' hooked, there's no turnin' back. Time ta' put that phone chip to good use..." He pressed his ear to the door, smiling when he heard a noise.

"Just one more thing I gotta' take care of. Ha-ha-ha, here kitty kitty,"

* * *

Yumichika was quite surprised and a little bit embarrassed when Ikkaku just up and grabbed his hand as soon as they started walking down the street.

They were getting looks - but Ikkaku didn't seem to care; He was off in his own world, grinning like a dork. After a little while, Yumichika realized that Ikkaku wasn't worried about anyone else but him; he only cared about this moment, this place, and this person next to him.

Yumichika smiled. He rather liked Ikkaku's warped point of view, his brutal honesty, his playful teasing. Everything was out in the open with Ikkaku; he always made everything perfectly clear. Although he was a little crude, he was always up front with asking permission, and he never was mean-spirited when slinging insults. It was like a breath of fresh air for Yumichika.

He liked knowing exactly what was between them. It was actually a bit of a relief.

"Hey, we should go there for sandwiches," Ikkaku pointed to a deli across the street, bringing Yumichika out of his thoughts. "My friend Rangiku works there," he said absently.

Yumichika stopped walking, frowning a little. "I know her too..." Ikkaku turned to look at him, eyes wide. Yumichika paused for a moment, "... Do you know a Hisagi?"

Ikkaku stared at him.

"How about a Kira?"

Ikkaku blinked a couple times, "This is super creepy... I can't believe we've never met before if we have all the same friends."

"I think it's a good omen," Yumichika said airily, linking his fingers with Ikkaku's more firmly, swinging their arms. "It must be meant to be." He smiled and started humming, and Ikkaku just stared at him, heart melting a little.

And then he grinned with all his teeth, "Maybe you're right. It makes up for lost time somehow." Yumichika looked at him, eyes big and trusting.

Ikkaku opened the door to the small sub-bar, bell jingling as they walked in. There were a couple people milling around, and Rangiku was behind the counter, holding up a compact, checking her face in it.

Ikkaku leaned up against the counter for a full thirty seconds, waiting to be noticed. Yumichika stood there patiently, rocking on the balls of his feet. After his stomach audibly gurgled under his sunflower shirt, Ikkaku got fed up and snapped his fingers near Rangiku's face. "Hey - I'm tryin' ta' get my date a sandwich, wouldja' pay attention to your job, already?"

Rangiku snapped the compact closed, glaring to see who dared speak to her in such a manner. What man could possibly resist her charms? She looked at Ikkaku, and then to Yumichika who was smiling and waving at her, darting his eyes conspicuously to their linked hands.

Oh. Well okay.

She did a little gasp, putting a hand over her mouth. "Yumi-_chika?_ You're on a date and you didn't tell me? - You're on a date with _Ikkaku?_" She gave him a look of surprised concern.

"Hey, what's wrong with me?" Ikkaku snapped, not entirely angry sounding, still reeling with happiness at this whole situation. Frick. He was holding someone's hand - He was spending time with someone who could really fill a void in his heart.

He was becoming dangerously smitten - so much so that it wasn't even funny.

There must have been a sappy look on his face that contrasted with his rough remark, because Rangiku gave him this lopsided-smile.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all, carry on. Nice shirt," Rangiku said slyly, laughing a little bit at Yumichika's clothes.

"Why thank you," Yumichika said in an equally snarky tone, breaking his hold on Ikkaku's hand to put both of his hands on his hips to press his over-large shirt around him. "I got it at a thrift store."

"That's probably why it looks like it came from the trash." Yumichika tried really hard to look angry, but he couldn't and started laughing.

"At least I don't have to wear a stupid uniform to work." Rangiku pouted at him a little. "I'm teasing. I'm wearing this to help this messy idiot paint his walls. Besides, it's not entirely ugly looking."

"Yeah, it does look kinda' good on you."

"I was talking about Ikkaku." Yumichika raised his eyebrows - Ikkaku's jaw dropped in mock offense.

"So was I," Rangiku retorted. Yumichika started laughing.

"Hey, hey, everybody pickin' on me," Ikkaku muttered, smiling a little. He loved the sound of Yumichika laughing. He really wanted him to be happy - _especially _after seeing him cry last night.

"Okay, okay, I've had my fun. What food would you like, you two?"

"Aah," Ikkaku looked at the menu, scratching the back of his neck, "Whatcha' want, babe?"

"Something with turkey," Yumichika answered. While Ikkaku looked over the options, Rangiku gestured for Yumichika to come closer.

"When did you break up with Kaa? I thought you'd tell me something like that," she whispered indignantly. Yumichika leaned closer to her ear.

"I've been too busy to gossip," Yumichika explained, sideslitting his eyes at Ikkaku. "Last night after I went on a date with him. I met him at work."

"You left Kaa for Ikkaku? Well I can't say that you took a step down."

"Oh come on," Yumichika whispered, offended on Ikkaku's behalf.

Rangiku put on some clear gloves, "I know, I know, I'm just kidding - You really dodged a bullet with Kaa though." Yumichika grimaced, crossing his arms as he sighed.

"Not really - I think I'm dodging after getting shot twenty times with an automatic gun."

"Hey, quit whispering over there," Ikkaku said sharply, glaring at them. "If you're gonna' talk smack about me, do it ta' my face." Yumichika grinned, giving his arm a swat.

"You're so morbid, Yumichika," Rangiku said in her regular voice, starting to get the ingredients out for a turkey sub.

"Sad truth," Yumichika hummed, waltzing over to a table and sitting down on one of the spinny stools. "How's life treating you, then? Can't be worse than mine."

"Oh, it's going great, I met this guy on a dating hotli-"

"Hey, don't talk to her, talk to _me,_" Ikkaku said with a grin. "We're eating on the go, remember?"

"Oh right. I'm on a date, sorry Rangiku," Yumichika said with a smile. Rangiku grinned back, not missing the way Yumichika's gaze lingered on Ikkaku. And Ikkaku, oh boy, she had teasing material that would last for years, just after the first sight of him and his sappy grin. He was just _gone._

"Okay, okay, just tell me all about it later,"

"Of course." Yumichika grinned as she made a phone signal with her hand. Rangiku stuck her tongue out at him and made a shooing motion towards the door.

"Well geez, no pressure on me now," Ikkaku sighed, paying for the food.

"Later," Yumichika grinned, opening the glass door.

He was really glad everyone was so happy for him. Renji and Ichigo had basically encouraged him to see Ikkaku, and Rangiku had as well, even though they all knew he was still wrapped up with Kaa. They seemed to want to push him towards the right choice.

"Have a good time," Rangiku said with a serious tone and a significant look.

"I will," Yumichika replied.

* * *

"Well, fuck, what should we do?!" Renji said in panic, hands knotted in his own hair. He was pacing the tiny kitchen, feet bleeding from where he had crunched some glass under his feet.

"Call him. Call Yumichika and let him know that a psycho's about to break into his house and take him!"

"Okay," Renji said breathlessly, trying to gather his wits, as he took out his phone, "Okay, good plan. Frick, if he hurts him I'll never forgive myself."

"I'll never forgive you either! You should've seen that one coming!" Ichigo shouted, throwing his hands in the air. Renji scowled listening to Yumichika's phone switch to the answering machine. He tried again.

"Hey, I'd just woken up, quit fucking yelling at me, I didn't see you helping when it happened! You didn't even come to the door, You coulda' stopped me!"

Ichigo held up his hands in a 'white-flag' gesture. "I'm not blaming you, calm down, I'm just worried. I don't wanna' see Yumichika on the news tomorrow."

"Shit, he's not picking up..."

* * *

"Hmmm, I wish we'd brought a picnic blanket," Yumichika said, scratching at his back, "This grass is a little itchy."

"Yeah... But it's warm... And it smells good. Nice place ta' think," Ikkaku said reasonably, laying on his back with his eyes closed. Yumichika smiled, settling back down, enjoying the silence.

"Hey,"

"Hm?" Yumichika cracked an eye open, rolling over to get closer to Ikkaku.

Ikkaku twirled a daisy between his fingers, rolling onto his stomach so that they were nose to nose. He smiled, pressing their foreheads together. "You smell nice..."

Yumichika grinned, looking down at Ikkaku's big hands, which were cupped around his. Ikkaku slipped the flower behind Yumichika's ear. "There. Beautiful."

Yumichika gave a contented sigh, and Ikkaku dropped his head down onto Yumichika's shoulder. "I really like being with you..." Ikkaku whispered almost shyly, poking Yumichika in the arm.

"Do you..." Yumichika began, smile fading away, "Do you get this... feeling? I... I can't explain it, but... I feel like I've met you before... like I've known you forever."

"Do you read the art of seduction?" Ikkaku asked flatly, teasing him a little.

"No, no, listen," Yumichika smiled weakly, trying to get him to take him seriously.

"I'm listening, babe... I love ta' hear you talk," Ikkaku said lowly, running his fingers along Yumichika's cheek.

"I... You're... everything... that I was missing." Ikkaku looked into Yumichika's eyes, frowning a little. He pressed a finger to Yumichika's lips.

"Hey, hey now... You ain't missing anything, ya' hear me? You're already perfect right now... just how you are," Ikkaku curled Yumichika's hair behind an ear. "But I know what you mean... about feeling... that way... it's something like soul connection."

He clasped their hands together, pressing his lips to their intertwined knuckles. "You're... Look, I'm not good talking about emotions, so listen close." Yumichika nodded. "This is all new ta' me. I've never felt like this. Renji and Ichigo mighta' told ya'... but, I don't date..."

Yumichika blinked, brow twitching. Ikkaku plowed on, rubbing his thumb over Yumichika's hand. "When I saw you, I don't know what it was, but... The way you tease me..." Ikkaku took another breath, gathering his thoughts. "Whenever I look at you, you freaking have this... this _glow._ I can't explain it - just... it's like in dreams where you just _know_ things that you normally wouldn't... and I know that... you're somethin' special."

Yumichika just looked back into his eyes for a moment, heart fluttering. The wind rustled his hair, and he turned his attention to the river, the boardwalk, the beautiful-smelling flower garden they were resting in. It was the perfect place to lay down and spend time being sweet on someone.

"I know sometimes I can sound rude and mean... But I have this gut feeling that I'm supposed to be here with you. I really, really like you, okay?" Yumichika nodded.

Ikkaku let go of his hands, rolling onto his back, looking up at the clouds. "Here, come a little closer to me." Yumichika crept up to his side and laid down with his head pillowed on Ikkaku's arm.

"There's just something about it..." Ikkaku whispered. "There's something... I just met you, but this is costing me everything... You've rented space in my mind already... When I see you, I want to make you happy, I wanna' argue with ya' like a little kid... I wanna'... I wanna' spoil you rotten and feed you candy n' shit... Can't stop thinking about you when I'm alone... I think about jokes ta' tell ya'... Sappy stuff like that."

Yumichika turned on his side, putting his arm on Ikkaku's stomach, tracing little circles with his finger. He looked up through his eyelashes, and he could see Ikkaku's smile.

"I have to thank you..." Yumichika said quietly, enjoying the soft rustle of the wind on his skin. "For so long I was waiting... just... _waiting_ for someone to come save me from my own messed up life... And you came along and offered me your help... but... just the fact that you were there... you gave me the confidence to save _myself._.. I haven't felt in control of my own life for a long time. I... I feel brave... when I'm with you... Thank you."

"It ain't right... It just ain't right," Ikkaku mumbled, referring to Kaa and his shenanigans. Yumichika sighed, sitting up with a sunny grin to break Ikkaku out of his mood before it began.

"Let's go walk through the mall. I need to use the bathroom." Ikkaku's eyes opened and he propped himself up on his elbows, looking up at Yumichika.

"Eh? Right now? Okay, I'll come with ya'."

"Good," Yumichika said with a little relief, standing up. Ikkaku stood up, wiping grass off his back. "I don't like going in the public bathrooms alone. Girls have it so much easier," he said airily.

Ikkaku grimaced. "I dunno', I seen some shit. Sickos creepin' in there ta' peep on 'em n' stuff."

Yumichika sniffed, "Yeah, well the pervs normally go in the men's room, and I don't like being near them."

"I guess that makes sense, sugar. I'll come protect you." Ikkaku's heart was swelling, aching, and it was bothering him a little. This feeling was way past smitten, way past taken, way past the crush stage.

"God forbid my protector be a pervert as well," Yumichika mumbled under his breath. Ikkaku punched him lightly in the arm, giving him a wry smile.

"I heard that."

"You were meant to," Yumichika giggled behind his hands. Ikkaku grinned crookedly, feeling a skipped beat in his chest. This was not good, he hadn't expected to fall so hard so fast.

Fuck. He was in love.


	7. Chapter 7

"Fuck, what do we do? What do we do!?" Renji shouted, pale-faced and clawing at his hair. Frick, he'd given this psycho maniac access to Yumichika's house, and possibly Yumichika if he was home - and he probably was, because he didn't have work on Saturday.

"Don't panic!" Ichigo shouted back, equally on edge.

"What if he hurts him?!" Renji yelled, punching the fridge door, knocking some of their magnet-stuck bills onto the floor in his frenzy.

"Stop panicking, Renji!" Ichigo tried to grab him, but Renji started on a guilt-wracked tirade, dodging his arms.

"Fuck, I led his stalker-boyfriend to him - What if he kills him?! I led his killer to him, he's gonna' be on the news and in different garbage bags strewn at the bottom of a lake - Fuck, I killed Yumichika!"

Ichigo could hear people pounding on the door in concern, and maybe a couple people in the apartment beneath them hitting the ceiling with a broom in an effort to tell them to shut the fuck up.

"Don't make me slap you, you're making people come to the door! Now quit fucking screaming," he demanded, nabbing Renji by the front of the shirt, "You're being hysterical!"

"How can you be rational at a time like this? You _know_ Kaa's nothing but trouble, what if he does something awful?!" Renji seemed to realize something else, because his face went from stricken to devastated in a split second, "Oh fuck, and we basically set Yumichika up with Ikkaku, what if Kaa found out? That might be why he came here- Aw, man, he's out for blood, He's out for motherfucking blood, Ichigo, what if he takes him?"

"I know, koi, but calm down, we can think this through," Ichigo said, trying to sound reassuring, "Acting crazy won't help us think of a plan." Renji nodded, sighing, trying to calm down a little. Ichigo inwardly cringed. Renji had always had a bit of a problem with guilt - _especially_ after that incident with Rukia.

"Alright... Now, Yumichika had this in confidentiality with me, but in light of what's happened... I think I'd better say, just in case... Kaa's never purposefully hurt him. Yumichika said he's never even raised his hand to even scare him - but I basically got it out of him that Kaa's vaguely threatened him a couple times, so I think just in case, we'd better take this seriously. Just in case," Ichigo repeated again.

"Wait, why would he even tell you that?"

"I walked in on something that looked bad, and he had to explain. No more questions."

Renji nodded too many times, biting at his lower lip. "I really don't know what that guy's capable of, he creeps me out." Ichigo nodded.

"He is a little... off, I guess. He probably won't hurt Yumichika or anything, but..."

"Just in case," Renji said.

"Yeah. Okay, let's look over the facts. He wanted Yumichika's address, which means he didn't know it. So we can probably assume that Yumichika purposefully moved so he wouldn't know where to find him. That means Kaa either wants to find Yumichika, or find something of his. Or maybe to plant something in his apartment." Renji nodded, and Ichigo nodded back, feeling pleased about how Renji had stopped acting like a maniac. "He's only been gone about twenty minutes now, so we can probably still catch him."

"So Yumichika's either at home, or not. We don't know for sure."

Ichigo nodded, "Good point. We should call Ikkaku, Rangiku, or the police. One of them might've seen Yumichika if he isn't home, and if they haven't, we can call the cops to let them know about the situation and that they should look out for any red-head ne'er-do-wells."

Renji looked at him strangely for a moment; Ichigo assumed it was to think over the plan. "I can't fucking believe you just said ne'er-do-wells. You watch too many-" Ichigo put a hand over his mouth, scowling.

"Shut up and focus, Yumichika's bod is at stake! You want his face ta' get messed up and have him scream at you about being ugly for the rest of his life?!"

"No! Stop yelling at me!"

"Okay, so the next step is to go over to Yumichika's apartment just in case he's still at home. Then we can warn him and maybe have him stay over here until this all clears up. Just in case Kaa's actually after him."

"Problem."

"What's that?"

"We don't have a key to his house."

"If he's home, he'll answer the door, koi," Ichigo said patiently. Renji blinked. Oh boy, sleep-deprived, stressed-out Renji. Ichigo was readying himself for battle, because that meant Renji might get extremely cranky.

"Wait, wait, wait. Flaw in the plan."

"Another? What is it?"

"What if when we're out looking for him, the cops think I'm the guy who kidnapped him?! Look at my hair, what am I supposed to do about this?!"

"Put on a fucking hat, or maybe a paper bag," Ichigo said exasperatedly and maybe a little cruelly. He didn't have the paitence for this anymore. This was really wearing on his nerves. If they went and told the cops about this, _obviously_ they wouldn't think Renji was the guy who did it - even if they said the suspect had red hair.

Renji scowled at him. Oh great. Now he'd done it.

"I fuckin' hate you sometimes, Ichigo," he crossed his arms.

"You don't mean that, you're just upset," Ichigo said calmly, grabbing a jacket. Renji seemed to feel bad then, lip protruding a little. He probably thought Ichigo was mad and about to give him the silent-treatment.

"I know... I'm sorry baby, I dint' mean that." And then, shit, Renji tried to hug him, getting him all tangled up in his jacket sleeves.

"I _know_, I just said so, get your gay arms off me- now _call,"_ he pointed at the phone viciously.

"Okay, okay, I'm doin' it." Renji fidgeted for a minute, before he grabbed Ichigo's hand, head bowed. "Do you really think Kaa'll hurt him?"

"You're a butt when you're scared," Ichigo sighed.

"You're a double-butt for dating the butt."

Ichigo face-palmed. "Okay, let's just go kick the butt who's possibly stalking our prissy-idiot."

"Good plan, babe." Renji kissed his cheek a little roughly, before grabbing the phone.

"Thank you," said Ichigo, as he raised his eyebrows, "Phase one of the rescue mission?"

"Check." Renji grinned.

* * *

"You have to go too?" Yumichika asked a little warily. Ikkaku shook his head.

"I thought you wanted me to beat off the pervs." Yumichika opened the heavy storm door and peeked inside, looking around.

"Well the bathroom's empty, so you have to stand outside like a bouncer."

"Oh. I can do that, that was my old job." Yumichika put his head in his hands, and Ikkaku grinned.

"Here, gimme' yer' wallet n' phone n' junk, so it doesn't get all nasty." Yumichika pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes.

"How do I know you won't run off with it, once I go in?"

Ikkaku frowned, thinking for a minute, before taking out his own wallet and handing Yumichika his driver's lisence. "For solidarity. Just don't drop it in the toilet."

"Ch'. Yeah, I'll try," Yumichika rolled his eyes, sticking it in his pocket. "Don't come inside, I don't want you to listen to me peeing, it's uncomfortable."

Ikkaku laughed a little, shoving Yumichika inside. "Fine, fine, I won't let anyone come in until you're done." The door shut, and the soundproof room allowed complete silence to fall.

Yumichika smiled, leaning against the cold steel of the closed door, sliding down it a little, clutching at the front of his shirt. This felt really wonderful. He sighed happily and then went to stand in front of the mirror.

Humming a little, he twirled a couple times, holding the edges of his shirt out to look at himself. He smiled at his own face, leaning his elbows onto a dry spot on the sink counter, to get closer to the mirror. "I'm really happy," he whispered, leaning in close to touch his forehead to the glass.

The handicap stall burst open with a _bang,_ door rebounding off the brick wall. Yumichika jumped three inches in the air, gasping loudly. "Happy huh? Ya' weren't so happy last night... Whatcha' say?..." Yumichika breathed shakily, extremely startled... He knew that voice. "Somethin' like 'I'm just not happy'. Hm-hm-hm," came a low laugh.

"How did... how did you know it was me," Yumichika asked lowly, shivering a little, trying to slow his heartbeat.

"Just been around. I'm sure it's one of those weird coincidences." There he was, behind him in the mirror, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed and with a sinister grin on his face. Yumichika swallowed, seeing his own face go pale.

"What are you doing here, Nicholas?"

"_Here-_here? Pissing."

"No. Answer me," Yumichika said with a tone that was braver than he felt. 'Don't let him push you around. You can do this.'

"Oh, the usual," Kaa shrugged, pushing himself off the wall with his foot, and coming towards him with raised maroon eyebrows. Yumichika turned around to face the real-Kaa, not wanting to look at the reflection of himself anymore, so pale and weak and scared-looking. He backed himself up to the counter, edging away from the man he'd spent so long revolving his life around.

He felt threatened - the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up.

"Throwing rocks at windows, tripping old people," he joked. Kaa looked upwards, smacking his lips once, biting at his lip ring as he shoved his hands in his pockets, "... Setting trash cans on fire - ya' know, passing time while I skulk on my man," his eyes flicked to Yumichika suddenly, like some creepy possessed demon from a horror movie.

"You're not funny," Yumichika whispered, frowning, still hyped up on adrenaline.

"Ya' look nervous, whatsa' matter," Kaa said, looming closer, smile not diminishing. Yumichika began to slide against the sink counter, trying to keep the distance between them.

Kaa was closer now, slamming his hands on either side of Yumichika's face. Yumichika jumped, screwing his eyes shut. "Hey," Kaa grabbed his chin, "Look at me."

Yumichika did, "What's this about you leavin' me? Now, I know that you're not leavin' me, huh?"

Yumichika tilted his head back, shuddering when he felt nails skate down his neck and to his shoulder. Some part of him would rather Kaa rip his skin and tear out his throat, anything but this gentle gesture - what he had been yearning for for so long from him. It wasn't fair, it was making his blood boil - he wanted to _scream. _"Huh? You throwin' a tantrum on me? You want me all to yerself? Flattering, but ineffective."

"No," Yumichika whispered, "I'm not throwing a fit,"

"Ya' know this little scheme a' yer's coulda' been avoided. Talk ta' me like an adult an' tell me ya' want me ta' come back."

"That never worked before," he snapped, like a wounded animal on the defense. Yumichika was surprised to realize that he was about to start crying. He was shaking a little bit. What did Kaa want from him? He didn't know what he was capable of, and it scared him - Kaa might be furious under this veneer. He was like a rubber band just waiting to _snap._

"Cause' it's selfish ta' not share, baby," Kaa grinned in his face, "Huh?"

"There's no scheme, Kaa," he said, voice quavering. "Back away from me."

Kaa didn't listen, smile going sour, "What, ya' mad an' tired a' waiting?"

"I've wasted too long on you," Yumichika hissed, putting a hand on his chest, pushing him back. Kaa didn't move, in fact, he loomed over him, eyes going dark.

"When didja' break, huh? You ain't strong enough ta' wait anymore? Like some weak twink-faggot?"

"I am not _weak_," Yumichika spat, shoving at his chest, getting an inch - and you know what they say about gaining an inch and taking a mile. "I'm strong enough to not let you push me around any longer."

"Is that right," Kaa said lowly, "Ya' don't want it no more? You're lookin' like you're lookin', runnin' around town just waiting for me ta' snatch ya' up?"

"I'm not looking for you, Kaa, I can leave my house without it having to do with you." Kaa looked at him blankly.

"My world does _not_ revolve around you. Do you understand?" Kaa blinked, brow twitching, and Yumichika could see a flicker of confusion. "I can walk around like a normal pers-"

"Oh, that's right, huh? You're out with the new guy," Kaa began to laugh, and Yumichika felt shame coiling in his gut. Kaa had always made him feel so small, so stupid, so unwanted.

"He has nothing to do with you, do you hear me?" Kaa scowled deeply for a split second. "I'm done with you."

"No. No, you're not done," Kaa said simply, and Yumichika began to feel helpless - Didn't Kaa have to accept it if he said he was leaving? He couldn't just say no, right? This was so frustrating.

"I'm not coming back just so I can waste my life some more. I'm not happy, okay? You don't care about how I feel."

"How was I supposed ta' know you weren't happy?" Kaa asked a little helplessly, as if it hadn't occurred to him that Yumichika was a separate entity with feelings as important as his own. "C'mon. Wastin' it doin' what?"

"Waiting for you, you stupid-" Kaa grabbed his arms, and Yumichika stiffened up, gasping a little.

Kaa made a mock-shocked expression and then started laughing, seeming to find pleasure in scaring him, or perhaps not even realizing that he had, "Waitin', I'm right here, stupid."

"What?" Yumichika asked faintly, fingers shaking.

"C'mon, I miss ya', I _love _ya'," Kaa said easily, like he didn't know how deeply that had struck Yumichika in the heart.

Yumichika shook his head, "No, no you don't. You don't even understand what that means. _Nicholas. _You don't understand." Kaa bristled a little at his name, like Yumichika had just uttered a horrible curse word, "Let me go, You're just trying to-"

"C'mon," Kaa shook him gently, drawing him in closer. Yumichika tried to resist, but some secret dark part of him really wanted this embrace that he was being drawn into - so with guilt, he allowed it. He really did still have some feelings left, some part of him that _craved_ Kaa's affection.

"No, You cheated on me, you got me fired, you drove my car when you were drunk and got my arm broken, I hate you, Nicholas, I never loved you," Yumichika lied in a cracked, bitter voice. "You've ruined my life, and I'm not-" Kaa grabbed his face and kissed him.

Yumichika melted. Oh... This was... Oh, wow.

Yumichika felt his hands going up to Kaa's face, so desperately wanting to just give in and go back, but some part of him knew that it would never feel right again. There was new love... there was someone else who barely knew him, but still found him so wonderful and who had treated him better in two days than Kaa had in the last two _years._

But, oh, this kiss was just what he had craved for so long, and he couldn't help himself. He sunk into Kaa's arms and kissed him back, pulling his face closer. Kaa moaned hungrily, feeling him up. Yumichika's eyes opened again, and suddenly he was struck with such deep revulsion and self-hatred that he almost puked right onto Kaa's face.

He was letting Kaa get away with it. _All of it._

What had happened to his pride? Yumichika pulled away, "I don't- No, I don't. I don't. This doesn't feel like I wanted it to."

"What? I still got it," Kaa bit at his neck. "C'mon, I still got it. Huh?"

"Yeah... But I don't want it anymore," Yumichika whimpered a little, going limp at the sucking mouth on his pulse point. Oh this was so cruel, using this against him - using this to lure him in again.

"No?" Kaa said simperingly, kissing him again with fervor. Yumichika was almost swept up again, but after a few seconds of a bitter sort of happiness, he felt rage boiling up inside him, and he coiled back and slapped the hell out of Kaa's face.

And suddenly he saw Ikkaku's face in the mirror, staring right at him.

Yumichika didn't look back at Kaa, not knowing what he would see - he just rushed out of the bathroom, past Ikkaku and his hurt, confused, and enraged face.


	8. Chapter 8

Ikkaku had just gotten off the phone with Renji, who had babbled at him in a panicked state for almost five whole minutes before he'd gotten him to slow down enough to let him get a word in. His heart had sunk further and further as the conversation went on.

Yumichika might be in real danger from the sounds of things.

He'd opened the bathroom door to tell Yumichika about Kaa knowing his address and that they should go check his apartment, but that... that _guy_ was in there looming over him. Presumably, it was Kaa. He matched Yumichika's description: Handsome, dark-red spiked-up hair.

Shit, he'd found him.

He still wanted to give Yumichika the chance to deal with the guy himself - Kaa didn't have a knife or a gun or anything, so Yumichika probably had things under control. But then their conversation had gotten stickier, and Ikkaku's gut started to clench up, along with his fists.

Damn. The clenched fists weren't a good sign. Clenched fists had a tendency to _punch_ things.

From the reflection he could see in the mirror, Yumichika was getting really freaked out. He looked like he felt really threatened, like a scared cat all puffed up - Ikkaku didn't like the way this guy hovered over him, using his larger size for intimidation.

Even more so, he didn't like the way he _talked_ to him. It was patronizing, borderline-disrespectful, and overall, something about it was a little creepy, like some car-salesman out for blood. His voice made chills go down Ikkaku's spine.

Yumichika still seemed to have a pretty firm handle on things, telling Kaa to leave him alone, so Ikkaku just watched silently in case things got out of hand.

The guy was as handsome as Yumichika had made him out to be. Kaa was about the same height as he was, a little on the thin side, but toned, kind of like Ichigo. His hair was red, with dark red roots, gelled so much that it defied gravity, and the guy had even dyed his eyebrows from the looks of it.

And then Kaa had started _touching_ Yumichika without permission, like he owned his body or something, and Ikkaku was ready to snap his neck. Then he told Yumichika he loved him - rather cruelly in Ikkaku's opinion, because it was obvious he was only saying it to try and string him along. Or he might have meant it, Ikkaku didn't know, it just didn't sound very sincere to him. Then again, everything Kaa said sounded insincere.

Yumichika's resistance had started to visibly flicker at that point. Then he'd embraced Yumichika.

Yumichika had tried to squirm out of it after one single moment of allowing it - Ikkaku could see the indecision on his face. This guy was toying with Yumichika's heart - but it seemed like Yumichika was keeping his head, rattling off all the bad things Kaa had done to him.

Ikkaku felt a fire light inside him when he heard the last thing about Kaa being irresponsible and almost killing Yumichika in a car accident. Maybe this was why Renji and Ichigo had been so surprised to see the two of them together - they'd known that Yumichika had a habit of going back to this guy.

He had to help Yumichika get out of this - Yumichika had even told him that he hadn't been able to do it on his own for a long time... Until last night; Yumichika had thanked him for the bravery... the courage to handle things himself. Someone believing in him.

Ikkaku swallowed. His heart was really fucking him up, getting all mushy and stuff. I mean, what was wrong with him, falling in love with a guy in two days? A guy who wasn't even technically available?

A guy who was literally in another man's arms.

Kaa grabbed Yumichika's face, and Ikkaku just stopped himself from going in there and kicking the guy in the junk. A moment after, Ikkaku felt like _he'd_ been kicked in the balls, because Kaa grabbed Yumichika's face and kissed him - _really invasively_ with lots of tongue.

Maybe Yumichika had lingering feelings and regrets for this guy - he'd told Ikkaku that Kaa didn't give him much affection, so _of course_ this would be Yumichika's weak spot. Kaa seemed like a clever person from the way he'd been talking, and he probably knew that this would be Yumichika's kryptonite.

Sure enough, Yumichika started kissing back, and Ikkaku felt ready to throw up. Fuck, he was starting to remember why he didn't want to date. This really fucking hurt.

Then they said a few words, and Kaa started groping him, kissing him more. Yumichika was into it for a few more seconds, and then _pow -_

Out of nowhere, Yumichika slapped the _shit_ out of him. Ikkaku's jaw dropped at how hard he'd blasted Kaa, Ooohh, that had to hurt. The sound was still ringing in his ears.

Yumichika's eyes met his, and he could see the rush of shock, shame, and then the guilt, and it was cutting him really deep.

Yumichika looked near tears now, completely shell-shocked as he rushed out of the bathroom. Ikkaku glared at Kaa, who was looking him dead in the eyes in the mirror with a blank face. Fuck, he was getting creeped out, but not enough that he didn't snarl at the guy and slam the bathroom door.

He could hear Kaa laughing in there like a mad-man. Okay, there was no fucking way he was letting Yumichika stay in his own apartment while this fucker was on the loose.

How had Kaa found him. Had he followed them all day and sat around in the bathroom just waiting on the off-chance that Yumichika decided to go in there? No, no, even Kaa wouldn't be that crazy. It was something else... But definitely not a coincidence.

"I'm going home, now," Yumichika said with a dull voice, jaw slack and eyes sad. He was so pale and shaky looking that Ikkaku felt really bad again, like he'd made him cry for the second time already.

"What? Already, but-"

"I just," Yumichika got frustrated then, growling and crooking his fingers in front of his face, "Uggh!" He put his face in his hands. Ikkaku took his wrists, pulling him under one of his arms, walking away with him, eager to get as far away from that bathroom and that creep as he could.

"C'mon, don't go yet, please?"

Yumichika didn't remove his face from his hands. He was trembling. Ikkaku's heart wilted. Everything had been going so well...

"I'm not mad at you," he said, just feeling like it was something he should say.

"You're mad, I know you're mad," Yumichika said, so quietly that it was really starting to scare Ikkaku. "You're angry after seeing me do that."

"I oughta' shake you," he said helplessly, taking him by the shoulders. "I'm not mad. He's messing with your mind, Yumichika, you have no reason to be ashamed. Sure, I wish you hadn'ta' kissed him, but I'm not mad at you. I told you, I like you." He shook him a little, making him look at him, "I _like_ you, I said. I'm not givin' up, okay? I... C'mon," he took his arm and walked with him, further away from that bathroom.

"How did he find you like that," Ikkaku muttered under his breath. "He knew you'd come in there... What on earth... How could he know that?" Yumichika didn't say anything, eyes wide and distant like he was thinking deeply.

"C'mon, let's go in one of these stores," Ikkaku picked one, a small outlet which he quickly navigated, taking them to the back behind some coat racks. He gestured for Yumichika to sit down, and he squatted in front of him, taking his hands.

"Listen to me, okay? Look at me," he tipped his chin up gently. After a couple seconds, Ikkaku took a breath, "Look, I'm not good at this emotional stuff, okay? When I look at you, I go all stupid inside, and I feel like I mess up a lot, but... just listen."

Yumichika nodded, lip quivering a little. Ikkaku rubbed his hands, trying to get them to stop trembling. Kaa had really scared him, Ikkaku could tell, and it made him furious.

"I'm falling really fast, and really hard. Okay? I'm fallin', so if you still think you're not ready to leave him for good... or if you're still tangled up with him or something... if you're not as serious about this as me, I need you to let me down easy, right now..."

Yumichika was quiet for a long time. After a few minutes of silence, he brought their linked hands up to his cheek and held them there with his trembling fingers.

Ikkaku knelt down and held him close to his chest. "You don't have to decide right-"

"I want to leave." Yumichika interrupted him, wiping under his eyes to get the tears before they fell. "I want to be done, I promise. I'm not lying. I'm tired of not being happy," Yumichika said with a small voice. "Do you know how long it's been since I've been this happy?... It's been a long time... You stupid idiot," his voice cracked a little.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Ikkaku fluttered his hands over him, "Don't cry, please don't cry... Oh man," he grabbed Yumichika's head and pressed it to his chest, stroking his hair awkwardly. "Shhh."

Yumichika gave a watery laugh and a sniffle, before sighing. "This is exhausting... going from happy to sad to scared to feeling... so safe. I feel safe."

"Yeah?" Ikkaku inquired, rubbing his hair a little more, still a little jittery over almost having Yumichika start crying on him again. "Good... I'll protect you, okay? I wasn't joking."

Yumichika nodded, blinking hard to suck his tears back up into his eyeballs. "Can... Is it really... okay after..." his voice trailed off. "How can you not be angry with me..."

"I'm not upset over that, okay? I just want to beat him up a little."

"A little," Yumichika repeated, staring at some of the coats, before laughing.

"Yeah, you're special ta' me, okay? You told me you were leavin' him last night, and I believe you. He's the creep who's following you around. I have no reason ta' be mad at _you_, you didn't ask for him ta' come here."

"Okay," Yumichika sniffled, taking a shaky breath. "I'm glad I didn't scare you away..."

"Yeah. So you gonna' let me be sweet on you, or what?" Yumichika nodded. "Really? You'll be my boyfriend?" Yumichika nodded, smiling at Ikkaku's deliriously happy tone. "Really really?"

"Yes," Yumichika said, poking him in the stomach. Ikkaku grinned that crazy smile again, and Yumichika smiled wider.

"Fuck, I wanna' hug you and spin you around, but there's no room in here." Yumichika laughed a little, standing unsteadily, grin fading away after a moment.

Ikkaku looked at him seriously then, holding him by the shoulders, "I wonder if you're okay... Are you afraid?"

Yumichika nodded, "I'll be fine."

"Why are you lying to me?" Ikkaku asked, so gently that Yumichika startled a little bit, inwardly curling with shame at having lied. "I'm concerned, please tell me so I can help."

Yumichika nodded slowly, "I just... I feel better breaking things off with him... but I don't know if he understands that I was serious. Maybe that's why he came here... He knew where I was... I don't feel safe going home. He knew where I was," Yumichika repeated, frowning. "Things like that have happened before, he'll just pop up like that... How did he know where I was..."

"Let's go back to my house and work something out, okay? Renji and Ichigo are gonna' come by real quick - they're worried... They called and told me that Kaa tricked your address out of them... I don't really think you should sleep there alone either until this gets cleared up."

"Okay," Yumichika nodded, a little braver. "Just in case. I think that's a smart idea. Thank you, it's a lot easier to think rationally with you here. I feel brave." He looked up at Ikkaku, "I really really like you, you big lug," he beamed.

"Fuck," Ikkaku muttered to himself, looking down at his shoes with a blush. He hid his eyes with a hand, scowling to himself.

"What's this all of a sudden?" Yumichika said in concern, trying to peek at his face to see what he was hiding. "What? What's the matter?"

"I just... Ugh."

"What?!"

Ikkaku looked up at him, face red with embarrassment, frown a little awkward. Yumichika suddenly realized that he was shy. "I feel like I've been waiting my whole life to meet you..."

Yumichika melted inside, cheeks flushing a little. "Hold my hand, you sap."

Ikkaku's blush intensified, and he hid his eyes again, looking the other way as he thrust his hand out for Yumichika to take.

* * *

"Yumichika, I think you should stay over with us until we figure something out," Renji said, scratching at the back of his neck, "This is all really freaking me out, okay? And I'd feel really guilty if something happened to you cuz' of my stupid mistake."

"I don't want to impose on you two, you're so busy," Yumichika said, adamant about not staying at their house.

"Well, where else can you stay?" Ichigo asked, pointedly eyeing Ikkaku to get him to speak up. "With Rangiku? Any family members?"

"No... Rangiku is staying in a dorm at the moment... And my only family that would let me stay... is my sister, and she's in England with her husband... that's why I have her car: she couldn't take it with her. Hmm."

"You can stay with me," Ikkaku piped up, trying not to sound too eager.

"Oh no, I could never impose," Yumichika said, shaking his head too many times. "We've just met, this is... No, I couldn't,"

"I insist, I have room-" Yumichika looked to Renji and Ichigo for help, but they were whistling and looking off in different directions, pretending to ignore his silent plea.

Humphing, Yumichika turned back to Ikkaku. "Are you sure it's entirely appropriate?"

"Well... If you aren't comfortable with it... I'm not gonna' peep on you or something," Ikkaku said awkwardly. "You don't even have to spend your time there during the day - Just sleep there so you'll be safe n' stuff. You don't even have to talk to me or come out of your room - I know it's too soon, but I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Okay... Well... Okay," Yumichika sighed, conceding. Ikkaku gave a small grin, and Yumichika scowled at him and his little victory.

"Alright," Renji said, "We gotta' book it to the store now, or I'm not gonna' get any he-"

"Don't say stuff like that in public!" Ichigo slugged him in the gut and turned bright red in the face. "We're leaving," he snapped, dragging Renji to their pick-up truck.

Yumichika and Ikkaku looked after them, blinking, before looking at each other and laughing.

"Alright, let's just stop at your place to pick up some of your clothes. I don't want you going over there alone,"

"Okay," Yumichika said, as if it hadn't occurred to him yet. "How many days should I stay?"

"Until you get an order of protection on him. Or until you feel safe to go back there by yourself, alright? I know it's a little early for you to come live with me... an' we've only known each other a little while... but... I hope that you can feel at home, okay?"

Yumichika nodded. "It's a first step, and it is a little strange, but... I think I want something a little different."

"Okay. Now let's get out of here before that creep comes lookin'."

"Good idea."

"I'm full of good ideas."

"No, you're full of_ shit_."

"Oh-hoh, shots have been fired!"

"Pow, bang-bang-bang,"

"Quit it, Stop frickin' tickling my ribs- Ack!"


	9. Chapter 9

AN - I know the chapters have been coming like bullets, you guys, but my idea's running short - i don't actually know where to go from here, so things might be coming a little slower from now on! I haven't given up, I'm just gonna' have to think things over a little more.

Please share this story with friends, with your blog, with your livejournal, etc. I can use all the support I can get!

and if you have time, PLEASE go over and read my new story _Dreams 101: User manual for dummies_ - It's super funny, I promise it will not disappoint.

Also, also, please leave a review and lemme' know if you wanna' see some smut action pretty soon? (;

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. . .

"Guh," Renji moaned, pulling his eye sockets down with one hand. "I'm pulling over, my eyes won't stay open anymore." After parking on the side of the road, he looked over at Ichigo, who was clinging to the arms of his chair, hair standing on end, face pale. "That okay?... uh, what's wrong with you?"

"Oh, oh, nothing," Ichigo said, sounding stricken as he jerkily unbuckled himself and got out of the truck to change places with Renji, "I'm just thanking God that we didn't die all those times that you just konked out on the freeway like someone suffering from narcolepsy."

"C'mon, I wasn't swerving _that_ much," Renji complained, dark circles under his eyes, tattoos standing out because of his unnaturally pasty complexion. He pulled down the little mirror flap above his seat, "Aw frick, I look like a box a' hammers, and that's an insult ta' hammers everywhere."

"Okay, mister dark lord, sleep while I drive," Ichigo demanded, "This whole thing with Yumichika's scumbag has exhausted you." Ichigo pinched him, turning the key to turn the car back on.

"Hey, worrying about people is hard work."

"Tell me about it," Ichigo rolled his eyes, "I need a vacation."

* * *

"We're totally going on a vacation!"

"Really? I haven't had the money to go on a vacation since I got fired - even just going by myself."

"Oh yeah? You could probably try to get your job back now that you're with me," Ikkaku grinned. Yumichika looked like he hadn't thought of that until that point. "It's gonna' be great, since it's like seven people pooling money."

"Oh," Yumichika smiled widely, "Good idea."

"So yeah, we'll just be going on a little vacation, Renji and Ichigo have been excited about it for months now, cause' they hardly _ever_ get time off at the same time anymore."

"You're inviting me? Are you sure that's okay?" Yumichika asked uncertainly.

"It's definitely okay,"

* * *

"This is so _not_ okay," Ichigo raged, kicking the side of the car so hard that his foot left a dent in the door.

"Woah, woah, calm down, baby, I'm _totally_ gonna' fix it," Renji said, grabbing his tools from the flat bed of the pick-up.

Ichigo crossed his arms and glared at him with his mouth in a flat line, completely not in the mood for this, "No. Call a tow-truck."

"But, babe, I can-"

"_Call a tow truck!"_ Ichigo screamed, picking up a rock off the ground and throwing it at Renji's head.

"Woah, geez - I dunno' what the hell you were calling _me_ the dark lord for, you're really pissy today,"

"Our day's completely ruined! You _can't_ fix the car, it'll take twice as much time and money for you to fix it, so just call someone to come get it!" Ichigo was getting red in the face. Oh geez. Renji hated when stressful situations like this happened, because Ichigo was seriously so close to blowing his stack lately.

He didn't want this to be the straw that broke his boyfriend's back.

"Okay, okay, I'm calling, okay? ... Just... Stop bein' so mad," he mumbled, leaning on the side of the truck.

Ichigo sighed, sitting down on the ground and leaning his back against one of the tires, "Looks like we're back to taking the subway." Ichigo looked so dejected and pitiful that Renji was starting to think those bad thoughts again about how his presence fucked up Ichigo's life.

He really shouldn't have messed with the car - but he had wanted to try out something he'd learned in class. After he'd tried to fix the air conditioner, he'd probably fucked something up with the engine, and now Ichigo was upset and stressed out because of it. Damnit.

"It's okay, it's okay, don't look like that," Renji held out a hand that had just gotten some grease on it, "C'mon, sit in the cab, babe, it looks like rain."

"I don't see any clouds," Ichigo said, so upset that he wasn't even scowling anymore, he just had that blank, flat expression on, and it was tearing Renji to pieces.

"I meant yer' eyeballs, baby. C'mere," He pulled Ichigo up, but the orange-head just pushed his hands away and got in the cab, shutting the door.

"Fuck," Renji sighed, leaning against the back of the truck. "Yer' just not happy anymore, are ya'," he mumbled. "Hopefully goin' on vacation with everyone'll help ya' relax... Hopefully... or I'm just outta' ideas." He kicked the side of the truck, swearing.

* * *

"Oh come on, everyone who's going are your friends too, right?"

Yumichika scuffed his foot on the ground a little, "Yeah, I guess so. I'll think about it. I've never been to Cedar Point."

"It's gonna' be _bomb_, baby."

Yumichika laughed a little, getting in his car, "Sounds like fun."

* * *

"Riding the subway? Sounds like fun, right?" Renji nudged Ichigo, who was crossing his arms and sulking as they got dropped off at the subway station.

"Yeah, carrying a fuckload of groceries on a nasty subway sounds like a lot of fun, I can't _fucking _wait."

"C'mon, babe, don't be mad," Renji carried his tool box in his hand, power drill in the other, and a bag over his shoulder. He couldn't leave their things in the car while it was at the shop - it might get stolen, or the legal documents in the glove compartment might be needed for other matters, so it all had to come with them.

"I'm not mad." Renji shut up. If that line got brought out, you'd best not say a damn word.

They rode most of the way to the city in silence, Renji sitting down on one of the benches with their things, Ichigo standing on the other side, smooshed inbetween a bunch of people, while he looked out the window.

Everything seemed to be going okay until, out of the blue, Renji's attention was grabbed by some Ichigo-noise. _Flipping out-_Ichigo-noise. "Hey, watch it, watch it, What the heck are you doin'?"

Renji looked up to see Ichigo shouting in the face of a really big burly guy. Oh boy, getting into a brawl on the subway was not on Renji's to-do-_ever_ list. "What's your problem, man?" the guy said back, looking a little nervous at being called out on his chikan-ways.

"My problem is your _hand on my_ _ass! _Keep it to yourself before I rip it off and shove it down your throat!" Renji grinned a little, shaking his head. Ichigo did his job for him most of the time, when it came to these things.

"Woah, back off, dude, like I'd touch some fag' pervert anyway, you're probably the one touching _me," O__bviously_ the guy didn't usually get attention drawn to what he was doing, so he was trying to push the pressure off on someone else.

"What the hell does that even mean, you sicko' jerk?!"

"Oh, I'm a jerk?" The guy grabbed Ichigo by the collar. Ichigo just growled, pulling an arm back, ready to punch the guys lights out.

"Let him go!" Renji shouted, holding a wrench above his head, "You let him go, or I'm gonna' make you and your fat face sorry. There's kids in this car, so you'd better _curb your language_ in public, and keep your_nasty hands_ to yourself," He yanked the guy's hand off of Ichigo's shirt, and pulled Ichigo behind him, "Now_get lost!"_

The guy probably hadn't expected psycho-muscular boyfriend/brother to just pop in out of nowhere, so he backed down, growled and turned away.

"Ya' okay?" Renji asked lowly. Ichigo scowled, crossing his arms. "Hey, can anyone spare a seat so we don't have to be near this dirtbag?" Renji asked the entire train-car, looking around. Most people were staring, still in awe over that display, but with admiration, and sympathy. Some middle aged women made some room, and Ichigo helped carry their stuff over there.

"Feel better?" Renji put his toolbox under his legs - there was only room for one of them, so Ichigo stood next to the bench, but was coaxed into sitting on his leg.

Renji bounced him a couple times to get a response out of him. Ichigo took a deep breath, "Ahhh, Yeah. I do, actually." Renji tried not to smile, sideglancing at the two women sitting next to them, who were whispering and smiling at them.

"I woulda' felt better if I coulda' punched his ugly mug a couple times,"

"You coulda' knocked him down, mister," peeped a little boy from the seat behind him. His mother tried to hush him and pull him back down, but the kid clung to the seat edge and stuck his head over it to look at them, "You have big brave muscles," The mother pulled the kid down and apologized for him.

"It's alright Miss," Renji said, grinning at the little kid with a wink. Ichigo just scowled.

Renji laughed lowly a little, tightening his arms on Ichigo, making him sit with his back flush to his chest. Ichigo just crossed his arms, face turning red.

"Is it my day ta' get groped on the subway or something?" he grouched. Renji just tugged on his ear.

"Aw, don't be cranky, we still got most of the day left."

Ichigo shrugged, leaning his head back on Renji's shoulder. "Yeah, I guess."

"I think you need rest more than me," Renji said quietly, running his fingers through Ichigo's hair, trying to tame the bristles down a little. Ichigo sighed. "Just close your eyes for a little while," Ichigo nodded, squirming a little to get comfortable. Their legs were all tangled up and pressed against the seat in front of them.

"Tch', if we crash, we're gonna' have four broken femurs, here."

"Be quiet, I was just startin' ta' relax, you butt," Ichigo grinned, not opening his eyes.

* * *

"You good for some heavy lifting?"

"Aw, and I was just starting to relax, too."

"Oh hush, you lazy lout,"

Ikkaku followed Yumichika up the steps to his apartment level. He grinned at the golden knocker attached to the green door - chipping paint, and rusty handle. Yumichika had some flower pots and boxes outside of his door and he had a cheesy welcome mat on the ground.

"I'll just need some laundry and... some other things," Yumichika opened the door, stepping inside.

Ikkaku followed him hesitantly, slipping off his shoes off, nearly running into Yumichika when he stopped suddenly in the middle of his living room.

"What, what's that look on your face?" Yumichika looked around slowly, eyes wide. Ikkaku let three dead silent seconds pass, before he nudged Yumichika's shoulder. "What?"

"Someone has been in here," Yumichika whispered. Ikkaku startled, looking around. Yumichika held a finger up to his lips, creeping across the carpet bare-foot. "Or is,"

"Wait, you mean someone might be in here right now?"

"Maybe. Don't talk." Yumichika stood perfectly still, listening. "If there is, they'll already have heard us, so we need to look around." Ikkaku nodded, heart pounding really fast as he followed Yumichika through his living room into his kitchenette.

Yumichika handed Ikkaku a rolling pin solemnly, and slipped a knife out of the wooden block, holding it aloft as he crept out into the hallway.

"This is our first partners in crime gig," Yumichika whispered, grinning. Ikkaku smiled after a second.

"Well wayta' think positive, I guess." He rolled his eyes, elbowing Ikkaku in the gut. "There's no way this creeper will take us seriously though."

"He doesn't have to take me seriously if there's a knife in his throat," Yumichika shrugged, sticking his tongue out. Ikkaku bopped him lightly on the shoulder with the pin.

"You need to take _yourself_ seriously, there seriously might be a creep in your house right now."

"I know, I'm just tired of having problems," Yumichika sighed, holding the knife above his head as he checked behind some wicker doors in the hallway. Ikkaku peeked in and saw some old board games stacked up next to a boiler and some pipes. There was a switch-box on the wall, and a couple spiderwebs. "No problem in here."

They snuck through the house, Yumichika telling him to follow his steps over the squeaky boards. All the crawl spaces and large cupboards and closets were checked, and no one was there.

They both took a breath. Yumichika swallowed and put a hand over his heart, rolling his eyes, "My goodness," he griped, tapping his foot on the ground as he checked his face in the knife.

Ikkaku rolled the rolling pin on Yumichika's arm, tickling him a little. "Are you just paranoid or something? How do you know someone was here?"

"I have a feeling." Yumichika looked at him with those eyes and Ikkaku felt chills go down his spine. From the look on his face, Yumichika was one hundred percent sure that someone had been in his house.

"It doesn't seem like anything's missing... but, the door was unlocked… I just kno-" Yumichika's eyes went wide and he did a huge gasp. And then he turned to Ikkaku and grabbed his arms, knife clattering to the floor.

"My cat… My cat is gone," he said in shock, face screwing up. He wailed in despair, stomping his feet on the floor, "Oh no, oh no, where is she? We looked through the whole house, she's gone! She's gone!" Yumichika clamped his hands on the sides of his own face, digging his nails in.

All of this whole situation had obviously worn Yumichika down to the nerves - Ikkaku felt bad, because he was so frayed that anything more would probably kill the poor thing.

"Wait, wait, calm down, you said the door was unlocked, she mighta' just gotten out by herself, right?" He was getting freaked out, because Yumichika was seriously starting to panic. This day was just one trainwreck after another. "Did you leave any windows open?"

"No, no," Yumichika began to cry, so tired and cranky and upset that he just couldn't help it now that he'd lost his cat along with everything else, "She always runs to the door when I come home and she didn't come out – she hates going outside, someone took her. I'll never see her again, oh my god," fat tears started rolling down his cheeks, to Ikkaku's dismay, as Yumichika began sobbing into his hands.

"Ya' think it was Kaa?" Yumichika nodded, shoulders shaking as tears streamed from his eyes.

"Oh-hoh, noo, you're right, it must be him," Yumichika was now crying so hard he couldn't stop. He nodded again, screwing his eyes shut as he dropped down onto his knees, curling up into a ball.

"C'mon, get up, sweets," Ikkaku said shakily, taking Yumichika under the armpits, hefting him up into his arms, "C'mon, it'll be okay," he picked him up and carried him out into the living room, sitting them down on the couch. Pulling him in close to his chest, Ikkaku pet his hair, "Shh, it'll be okay." He kissed the top of his head, but this just made Yumichika cry harder.

"Aw, babe, don't cry," Ikkaku whined, patting his back, "Are you sure he'd do this? Is he really so petty as to take your cat and hurt it?" Yumichika was getting hysterical, face wet, hands shaking and clamped over his mouth and nose, hardly able to breath through his crying. He nodded a bunch of times, crying so hard that Ikkaku's heart was hurting.

"Oh, sweetheart," Ikkaku squeezed him, "Shhhh…. We need to go report this. Right now. We can look all over town – Your cat's only been gone a couple hours, right?"

"Right," Yumichika said shakily, beginning to calm down. "His little sister," he breath was rattling and quavering, because he physically could not stop crying anymore, hiccuping and sobbing, "before she die-ied, she said he- _hic-_ used to do things to the neigh-" he began to cry hard again, putting his hands over his face, "No, no, no, no, he can't, he can't-"

"Shh, babe, pull yourself together... C'mon, calm down, just breathe," Ikkaku made him copy his breaths for a while, until he was calm enough to say a full sentence.

"He used to do things to the neighbor's pets – I'm sorry for falling apart, I just... She's my only family now that my sister's moved away... Kaa loves horror movies - he'd always be watching them and they would have serial killers who would hurt animals when they were kids," Yumichika's voice spiraled higher and higher with each bout of worrying, "and the pets would get torn up or set on fire! Hair burns so fast, I didn't realize, but they doused the cats in gasoline and just _fwhoom!"_

"Shh, don't think about that," Ikkaku put a hand over Yumichika's mouth and then pulled his head to his chest. "I'm sure that won't hap-"

Ikkaku gasped, snapping his fingers "Wait, if we hurry, we can go back and get that bastard, he's still in town." Yumichika blinked up at him, getting up off the couch.

"Here, get on my back, we'll run."

* * *

"Fuck, we're missing the bullet train!" Ichigo shouted, carrying groceries in his arms.

"Here, get on my back, we'll run!"

"You idiot, you can't carry me and all this shit!"

"Well fuck then, I'll go hold the door," Renji dropped his bags on the ground and _sprinted_ across the subway station, jumping over the turnstiles, and slipping through crowds, jamming his foot in the door of the train.

"OW!" Ichigo could hear from across the cavernous room, "OW, OW, FRICK, IT KEEPS OPENING AND CLOSING, HURRY UP!"

Ichigo looked around helplessly, already laden down with plastic bags, "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CARRY EVERYTHING!?"

He was met with silence, and he sagged, groaning, "Guuuhhhh, I'm on a planet full of lunatics."

* * *

"_You fucking lunatic! _What did you do to my cat?!" Yumichika screeched, kicking and clawing at Kaa's smirking face, only held back by Ikkaku's arms, clamped around his chest.

"Hm…" he scratched his head, feigning idiocy, "I dunno'," he cackled. Ikkaku set Yumichika down on the curb, rolled up his jacket sleeves with a calm expression, spit into his palms, cracked his knuckles and then punched Kaa in the nose.

Kaa almost fell backwards on his ass, as he clutched at his face, "Frick, you punch hard, man,"

"There, now your face matches your fucking hair, you sicko'!" People on the other side of the street were staring in shock, because Kaa was laughing like he'd been told an insanely funny joke.

"Ha, that's a good one," Kaa let the blood run into his mouth as he looked at them, grinning as he snapped his nose back into place. Ikkaku cringed at the sound. "What's this, ya' like bald guys now, Princess Yum-Yum? What's up with this?"

"Sick Nick is a fucking dick," Ikkaku sniveled, like a school-yard taunt, fists clenching in rage. Kaa's eyes went wide in fury, and he grabbed the front of Ikkaku's t-shirt.

"My name is _Kaa_," he hissed through gritted teeth, fist coiled back ready to punch Ikkaku in the face. Ikkaku shoved him in the chest to get him out of his face. "But you're right about me doing the fucking," Kaa's anger left as quick as it had come, and he was grinning again, eyes glinting threateningly. "Ain't that right, Yummy-chika?"

Yumichika glared, throwing a rock at Kaa, hitting him in the stomach. "Pfft," Kaa laughed, crossing his arms.

"You petty piece of shit," Ikkaku grumbled, picking the distraught Yumichika up off the curb.

"Heh- I'm sure Ruki's around here somewhere, she did always like the fish pond in that one park," Kaa laughed. "I just opened the door and she shot out like a rocket. S'not my fault,"

"Oh, you bastard," Ikkaku spat, "You're just tryin' ta' scare him, huh? That's it?" Yumichika kicked a wall. "You let him think you cut his cat up or suffocated it in a shoe box, and you just let it run away?"

Kaa grinned, sticking out his tongue, making a lewd gesture.

"You are the biggest dirtbag I've ever met," Kaa laughed. "You have double-standards about gays even though you _are_ one – you're a complete creep, and you stalk Yumichika even though you've been sleeping around like a soggy waffle, What's _wrong _with you, man? It's a wonder he didn't kick your ass out years ago!" Ikkaku stared at Kaa without blinking, "Once your body gives out, you won't have a job or anyone to warm your bed, because that's all you are is a pretty face with some pretty words."

Kaa wasn't smiling now, and was staring at him, slack-jawed. Yumichika was blinking, teary-eyed, looking at Ikkaku like he was a superhero. "You're nothing but a slimeball, and once you look like one, everyone's gonna' know, and ya' won't get away with shit anymore."

Kaa opened his mouth, closed it again, blinking. Yumichika stared, not speaking. He'd never seen Kaa at a loss for words. He looked pretty stupid with drying blood all over his face and his teeth, eyes wide and mouth agape like a fish.

Ikkaku pursed his lips, glaring at the guy, "And for the record, your fucking head looks like it's on fire." That at least got a smile out of Yumichika. "He doesn't want to see you anymore, so stay the fuck out of his sight, his house, and his personal space... You make me sick, and you're also a loser."

Yumichika looked at Kaa, who was starting to look kind of sad, arm twitching like he wanted to grab his hand.

"We're leaving." Ikkaku turned around and took Yumichika's hand, pulling him off the curb and walked away. "See you never, asshole."

"Small world," Kaa called after them, and for some reason, it really fucking creeped Ikkaku out, because he could feel his eyes following them long after they'd left the immediate area.

* * *

"I can't believe you gave a hundred dollars to a stranger just to get them to hold the door," Ichigo said in disbelief as he trudged through the park with Renji, carrying way more than a human ever should.

"Hey, c'mon, what would you have done?" Renji ducked under some tree branches and sat down on a bench to rest.

Ichigo slitted his eyes, "Okay, fair deal."

"Stop trying to turn me on," Renji said flatly.

"I didn't do anything to you, idiot!"

"You fucker, you're breathing," Renji scowled, grabbing Ichigo by the wrist, hauling him towards him on the bench.

Ichigo blushed, "Let's just get home."

"In a minute, my legs are killing me,"

* * *

"My legs are killing me, let me down," Yumichika said to Ikkaku, who knelt down to let him off his back.

"Okay, what's your cat look like? I don't actually know, so... I don't know how much help I can be finding her."

"She's a maine coon, so she likes water... That's why she likes the koi pond... The only place she ever liked outside was the fish pond. I used to live closer to this area. If she's not there... then, I'll have to give up," Yumichika said. "But she's white with black patches."

"I'm sure we'll find her, Yumichika, think positive."

* * *

"Think positive, babe, we'll be back soon,"

"Yeah... I guess," Ichigo sighed, sitting down next to Renji. Renji poked him excitedly, grinning.

"Hey baby, wanna' arm-wrestle me? C'mon, arm-wrestle me,"

"Alright, alright, I was gonna' say yes," Ichigo looked up, just in time to see something divebomb out of the tree above them and land on Renji's head.

"ACK!"

"Holy fuck!" Ichigo screamed, "What the hell is on your head?"

"Get it off! Get it- Oh, geez," Renji pried the thing off his head, holding it in front of him, "What the- Haruki? Hey, is this Yumichika's cat? I think it is," he laughed, petting the cat's back, completely forgetting his shock and upset. "Remember how she always used to lick my hair when we lived with Yumichika?"

"Hey, is that _Yumichika?"_ Ichigo put a hand up to his eyes, staring into the distance.

"Oh hey, what do you know,"

"Is Ikkaku holding a fish carcass?"

"Haruki's breath stinks,"

"Oh geez, I hope the park manager doesn't see that,"


	10. Chapter 10

AN - Had real trouble writing this chapter. I'm not giving up, but I'm just saying, I'm running out of plot idea, and I'm starting to get writer's block. So things might move a bit slowlier.

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"They are just having one problem after another, aren't they," Ichigo mumbled as they came up the steps to their apartment. Renji was still upset over what they'd been told about Kaa messing with Yumichika's cat – they'd been right in their caution, by not letting Yumichika sleep at his own apartment alone. Kaa had done exactly what they'd expected him to do: go to Yumichika's apartment to make trouble.

Never mind the fact that they had thought he was going to kill Yumichika, rather then let his cat run out of the house. Kind of a let down actually.

Renji was still ranting about it at the moment, getting on Ichigo's nerves a little, "I mean, how creepy is that?! Just _think_ if Yumichika had been _home_ when Kaa came around – I can't freaking believe-"

"Yeah, they're having one problem after another, I said," Ichigo repeated in the same tone of voice. If he raised it in hopes to be heard above Renji's shouting, Renji would most likely get even louder. "Let's see, there was Ikkaku brawling at his work… his explosive break-up, Kaa stalking him in a bathroom, and almost losing his cat. Just one huge unlucky streak. Ikkaku's pretty determined."

"On the positive side, it'll probably bring them closer together,"

"Or it might just scare Ikkaku away," Ichigo said flatly, "You know how he is with that luck and superstition stuff." Renji grimaced, shrugging as Ichigo opened the door and toed his shoes off as well as he could without the use of his hands, which were still preoccupied with the grocery bags.

"Oh pssh, I doubt that, he's a stubborn asshole," Renji said, sliding in and shutting the door with his shoulder. He ducked down to kiss Ichigo's cheek and try to nose him up to his lips. "Mmm, He looks as smitten with him as I am with you, good-lookin',"

"Yeah, yeah, pipe down, pineapple-head," Ichigo grinned, kissing him back for a second before going to the counter to set down the groceries before his arms just fell off. "Just wait till' tonight, you won't even know which end of me looks better,"

Renji's breath left him all at once, and he dropped his groceries on the ground, staring at Ichigo, who was giving him that innocent look. Ichigo then glared at him when he made to grab at his behind. "Go study. I've decided that whoever wins Marioparty tonight gets to pick top or bottom."

Renji made a thoughtful noise when inside he was fist-pumping, "Hm. Good stakes. Not really any way to lose."

"I thought so too," Ichigo said, opening the fridge, beginning to put away the new food. "Go get started or we won't have time."

"Alright, alright, I'm goin'." Renji gave him one last kiss on the cheek, trying to avoid getting beat with a dishrag that Ichigo was fending him off with, "I'm glad I get some time with you."

Ichigo sighed, smiling fondly, not turning around, "Love you too," he said quietly after Renji had left.

* * *

It took them a while to get all of Yumichika's things – Yumichika didn't want to let his cat out of his sight, and had pet and cuddled her for an obscene amount of time. Of course, Ikkaku didn't know what things Yumichika needed, or where they were, so eventually he had to gently prod him and tell him that he'd watch Haruki while he packed. Yumichika conceded, which pleased Ikkaku, because it obviously took a bit of trust.

This didn't stop him from pausing in packing every few minutes to peek into the living room to see if Haruki was still there. Ikkaku just pet her and glanced back at him with a grin every time - Yumichika eventually stopped, finally settling as he realized that everything was fine.

Yumichika ended up with a bag of clothes and a couple cardboard boxes of video tapes and some other things – which Ikkaku couldn't see, because of the box cover. Lastly, there was a small cube television that played only VCR tapes. And then there were his cat's things.

"It's a good thing you didn't let me pick you up," Ikkaku noted. Yumichika's eyes narrowed and his lips pursed when he mentioned his motorcycle. Of course, it would've been impossible for them to bring anything but their bodies on the motor-bike.

"Yes, it's a good thing."

"You should let me take you for a ride someday," Ikkaku said eagerly. Yumichika stuck his nose in the air. "What's that? Why are you so sour all of a sudden?"

"Those bikes are dangerous, you hooligan," Yumichika said snootily, crossing his arms.

Ikkaku stared at him for a second, before a Grinch-grin spread over his face, "You're scared, aren't you," Yumichika bristled like a porcupine, and he hit Ikkaku in the shoulder pretty damn hard. "Okay, okay, you chicken," Ikkaku teased as he picked up some of Yumichika's boxes.

Yumichika allowed Ikkaku to drive his car on the way back to his apartment, because Haruki disliked car rides, and needed to be held by Yumichika himself – which obviously could not be done while he drove.

After sliding Yumichika's car next to his motorbike in the under-ground parking garage, Ikkaku sidled over to it, leaning against the concrete wall, whistling nonchalantly, "What, you don't think I'm hotter next to this bad-ass motorcycle?"

Yumichika turned red and threw a balled pair of socks from his clothes bag at him, "_No."_

"Oh, so I look cooler, then?" Yumichika gave an exasperated laugh. Ikkaku grinned, "I'm gonna' get you on it someday."

"You're going to die disappointed then," Yumichika said with a straight face, goading Ikkaku into laughing again. He made a noise with his teeth to get Haruki to follow after him as he carried his boxes to the elevator.

"Ikkaku, can you hold the door so her tail doesn't get caught?"

"Yeah, sure," Ikkaku did so as Yumichika grabbed the rest of his things and locked his car. The elevator ride was calming, and spent in silence. Haruki meowed at her reflection on the chrome walls, and Ikkaku wormed his hand into Yumichika's.

The door opened, and Ikkaku stepped out onto the sidewalk, waving at the guy in the tollbooth at the garage entrance. Haruki stayed close to Yumichika's legs, winding around them as they picked up Yumichika's luggage.

After a short walk to the building, Yumichika screeched at the fact that the garage had an elevator, but the twenty story apartment building _didn't_.

"Oh come on, babe, the levels are open to the air like a condo, that's why they don't have an elevator like some hotel – leaves and rain would get in."

Yumichika still pouted about it. "You walk twenty stories worth of stairs everyday on your way to work?"

"No. I live on the third floor. You walked up there this morning, remember?"

"Oh, not so bad," Yumichika brightened considerably, "I don't know why I didn't remember that. It's been a long day, I suppose."

"I hear ya'," Ikkaku said wholeheartedly, "But we're almost there already, see?" He nodded in direction of the last two stairwells. Haruki bounded up the steps, and meowed when she reached the top of them, looking down on the two of them.

"I'm surprised that she likes you," Yumichika indicated his cat, "I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but she's the reason for Hisagi's face scars."

"What? No way," Ikkaku looked at the sweet furball, and then started laughing. He would never let Hisagi live that down.

"You can't tell him that I told you," Yumichika said firmly, fighting back his own laughter. "She doesn't like strangers; Only me and Kaa."

"I see. I guess I can't get a fish anymore then, huh?" Ikkaku joked. Yumichika then looked guilty about invading his home, so he was quick to say that he liked this arrangement better.

When they reached the landing, Ikkaku set down his boxes and unlocked the door to his paint-smelling apartment. Haruki circled at the doorway, meowing as Yumichika and Ikkaku entered and took their shoes off.

"Here kitty," Ikkaku squatted down, trying to lure her into the house, but she wouldn't come - she turned around and made her way towards the neighbor's flower boxes. Yumichika picked her up and carried her in, petting her head.

"She had Kaa wrapped around her little finger, it was quite funny... She seems to like you too, I'm glad... If she scratched you, you might get fed up pretty quickly."

"Oh, come on. If that slimeball can't scare me away, something this cute can't either."

Ikkaku closed the door to keep her in, and moved to the windows, closing them again. Haruki wandered around in front of the fans, enjoying the breeze.

"Well... Home ... Home sweet home," Yumichika said, while pulling his shirt up over his nose and mouth. Ikkaku cracked up, going over to hug him and pick him up.

"I'm glad you said yes," Ikkaku grinned, "Now we'll have a bunch of time to get to know each other... To tell the truth, I was a little worried you'd change your mind and... ya' know... go back... Because he does know a lot more about you than me... Your favorites and... all about your life and family... what you like,"

"Knowing all that didn't make him treat me better." Ikkaku smiled after a moment, pulling at the ends of his hair.

"Still glad ta' have ya' here."

"Going home with a man on the second date," Yumichika sighed, with a rueful smile, looking back at Ikkaku, who was grinning like a maniac and squeezing him under the armpits in a huge hug. "Ohhhh, what would my parents say," Yumichika flopped his head back, laughing a little as Ikkaku shook him from side to side, goading him to hug back.

"What _would_ they say?" Ikkaku asked curiously, eager to know more about Yumichika.

"Something degrading," Yumichika grimaced, "But my sister supported me. When I came out, I mean. She didn't support me being with Kaa, though."

"Well she obviously cares about you then."

Yumichika smiles, "Yes. You two would get on like a house on fire."

"Oh geez," Ikkaku grimaced, a little cowed. Yumichika moved his luggage a little, looking around. "Okay, so obviously you can't sleep on the couch in the living room, because, well..." He gestured at the burlap-tarp covered couch that blocked the hallway, and the painted room: a complete mess. "So... Well, you said there's a lotta' space in here, but... there's not a lot of _rooms_, as you can see. If you don't wanna' sleep in the bathroom... you'll uhh... you'll have ta'... um,"

Yumichika pursed his lips. From what he had seen, there was a bedroom, a front room connected to a kitchen, a bathroom, a mystery room, and a hall closet. _  
_

"Share your room?" Yumichika's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure there isn't anywhere else I could sleep? You're not trying to bait me into your bed-"

Ikkaku looked offended, and cut him off, "Hey now, I am _no_ pervert, you fruitcake," he jabbed Yumichika in the stomach and wound his arms around his back tightly to keep him from escaping as he tickled him. Haruki clawed at Ikkaku's leg when Yumichika began to laugh and thrash around.

"Stop, stop, you're upsetting her," Yumichika laughed, squatting down and petting down her puffed up fur. Then he sighed, "I'm just saying, it doesn't look good, Ikkaku. We met yesterday, and I'm _not_ that kind of person."

"Oh woah, hey now, I never said you were cheap. I'm not insinuating _anything_. I just want you to be comfy... and not get poisoning from paintflecks," he scratched at the back of his neck. "I mean, you could sleep in my bed, and I could sleep on the floor,"

"It's okay, I suppose. I'll take the floor, if I could have some blankets,"

"Yeah, sure, no problem, babe, let's go see what I got." Ikkaku immediately hopped over the covered couch blocking the hallway, Haruki following him like a shot.

Yumichika trailed behind hesitantly, looming by the doorway of Ikkaku's room, watching Ikkaku fumble in a closet in the dark.

* * *

Ichigo set down a tray with cheese and crackers and a drink on it next to Renji on his work desk. His red-head lover had on headphones and reading glasses, scribbling at sheets of graph paper and ticking things away on a calculator with his pencil eraser.

Not wanting to interrupt him, he made to sneak away silently, but Renji snagged him around the waist, pulling him in so he could kiss what was level with his face, which was, at the moment, his stomach.

"Thanks, babe," Renji mumbled, skewing his green-frames as he pushed his cheek up against Ichigo's torso. "M' almost done, I swear," he said tiredly.

"Take your time," Ichigo said, hesitantly setting his hand on Renji's head, then beginning to pet his hair soothingly. "I'm packing for our vacation."

"Mm, I can't wait," Renji turned back to his work, "We should get Yumichika to go with us."

"We already booked hotel rooms. He'd have to share a bed. If he's not comfortable with that, then don't push him, alright? He's had enough after that volcano-head maniac-"

"Hey now, don't talk about his hair while it's that color," Renji pouted. Ichigo kissed his forehead, rubbing his shoulder a little.

"Concentrate, Koi," he said softly, "Don't let me bother ya'."

"Yer' not a bother. Yer' sexy."

"You just wait until I beat you at Marioparty. We'll see who's sexy _then."_

_"Oooh_, I thought I was supposed to concentrate?"

"It's called extrinsic motivation."

* * *

"What is this other room for, couldn't I sleep in there?"

"That's full of stuff - all my belongings are in boxes from when I was moving around."

"Ah, I see. I _could_ lay in the hallway," Yumichika pointed out, waving an arm at the cramped space blocked off by tarp-covered furniture and cardboard-boxes.

"Are you that eager to get away from me?" Ikkaku teased, pulling things out of what Yumichika recognized as a linen closet.

Yumichika looked around a little, even though he had been trying to preserve Ikkaku's privacy. It was a little messy, with a large queen sized bed, blankets askew. There were clothes on the floor and some food wrappers, but there weren't any dirty magazines, condom foil, or murder supplies, which was a good sign.

"No, no, I just, you know... You might get questions and weird looks if-"

"Look, Yumichika, _nothing_ about you could ever embarrass me. Okay? No one's gonna' make fun of me because I've got _you_ over here, they're gonna' be jealous."

"I just... don't want to make you go to trouble..."

"You're no trouble. Just lemme' do this for you, okay? Don't worry about anything."

Yumichika looked like he wanted to say something else, but he let out the breath and nodded, taking some sheets and a comforter from Ikkaku, who was putting a new pillowcase onto one of his pillows. He then threw it towards a clean place on the carpet, next to his bed. "Just put em' right there. Is that okay? If it's uncomfortable on the floor, or if you wake up in the night, feel free to sleep right on the other half of my bed, I don't mind at all."

Yumichika nodded, smiling, wondering if Ikkaku was someone who spread acrossed the whole bed, or if he snored, or if he kicked in his dreams. "You can just settle in while I finish painting, a'right?"

"Okay. Ikkaku-" Yumichika touched his shoulder as Ikkaku made to pass by him back down the hallway. "Thank you... I'm glad we're doing this. I didn't mean to sound so reluctant... I am... very excited... and happy," he said quietly, "It's like a new chance at... life, I guess." Ikkaku looked at him for second, before smiling softly.

"'M happy too. Thanks for givin' me a chance. I know it was a gamble for you, what with... havin' ta' change your whole life situation around for me."

"A risk worth taking," Yumichika smiled, walking back out into the front room, taking out a little portable radio and some scrapbooking materials. "Just tell me when you want me to paint the molding." Haruki meowed from where she'd hopped up on Ikkaku's counter.

"Hmm," Ikkaku mixed some more paint up into the roller tray, moving to a section that needed another coat, "Well you're supposed to let the paint dry for a couple days, then do another coat, let that dry... and then tape everything off and paint the molding, so... Maybe next weekend. But don't worry 'bout that, just relax for a while,"

"Okay," Yumichika smiled and lie down on his stomach, beginning to cut pictures and stickers.

It was nice - sharing space with the music on. Before they knew it, it was seven at night, and they had hardly talked.

But the mark of true companionship is silence, after all.


	11. Chapter 11

AN-

I know you guys had to wait a little while for this one, but hopefully I made it worth your while. I made this chapter extra long to get things moving, and included a lemon~

Also! I got a plot idea! I know I said that I was gonna' try to finish this story, but that was wishful thinking at the time, because I had no idea where to take it. (It really doesn't follow the cashier/college student au that I'd first had in mind, it's kind of taken on it's own shape) But I have a full plot idea now~! Hope you'll all stick with it to the end, even if it takes a while to finish.

Warning - I know I warned everyone about smut before, but just telling you all again, this fic is now **M.** Why? For blatant, ridiculously long, gritty and explicit porn scene(s). By request of course ;) - If sexy naked men bother you, just skip over them, you won't miss any plot points, but you'll miss a lot of tattoos.

* * *

. . .

"And I said, 'next time you want to get piss-drunk, at _least_ put on something less tacky, and maybe you'll score the ugliest wretch in this god forsaken crevice. Just a hint, it's not me.' And I also said that his breath stunk."

"You totally didn't say that."

"Why wouldn't I say it?"

"You have to back up shit talk, especially in a bar," Ikkaku looked at him a little strangely, "Your arms are like sticks, sweetheart... Although... Now that I'm thinkin' about it, you could probably kick _my_ ass, couldn't ya',"

Yumichika grinned, "Hey now, I can back it up. I _never_ bluff; It gets me in trouble. Anyways, he got mad. Ya' know, like spitting, rage, violent-drunk. He grabbed the front of my shirt and ripped the buttons, so I splashed my drink in his face and kicked him in his crotch."

"You did not," Ikkaku said, calling bullshit. "You were drunk."

"I _did_, I _did_, I remember, because he didn't zip up his pants after going to the bathroom. I used his neon underwear as a target. Freaking bull's eye,"

"Oooh, snap," Ikkaku closed a kitchen drawer with his hip. "Remind me not to get on your bad side, I'd hate to see ya' on the war path."

"I prefer to solve things without violence," Yumichika said haughtily, "Fighting is much too sweaty-"

"And ugly, I suppose?"

"I do enjoy watching men's wrestling. Imagine what that would look like without the hot pants."

"Oh my god," Ikkaku rolled his eyes, "You freaking pervert." Yumichika laughed to himself for a little while, before singing quietly along with the radio. "Crack some eggs into a bowl, and pour in some milk. It makes the breading stick to the meat."

"Okay, this is a little too domestic for me," Yumichika joked, cooking some noodles on the stove while Ikkaku chopped some meat nearby.

"What?" Ikkaku looked up in confusion, watching Yumichika move to dig through the fridge. He grinned and turned back to his task, "I dunno', I kinda' like it." Yumichika shrugged, dancing a little to the music.

Ikkaku started humming, sticking the knife under the faucet, washing it with a quick swipe of his fingers. Yumichika winced at the possible slice to Ikkaku's thumbs. "You've been hit by, you've been hit by, a smooth criminal," he pulled on a piece of Yumichika's hair at the end.

Yumichika smiled, "You are a cheeseball, Madarame Ikkaku."

"I'm not Madarame Ikkaku. I'm slim shady," he said with a morbid look on his face and the side of the knife pressed to his own throat.

"Uh oh, I'm in trouble now," Yumichika laughed, letting Ikkaku take his hand and twirl him backwards into his arms.

'_Come into my world, I've got to know, know, know you,'_

"Mmmm," Ikkaku nosed at Yumichika's cheek, smiling as he hugged him, tossing the knife into the sink. "You smell good."

"You're smelling the food," Yumichika pinched him in the arm, but lay his head back on Ikkaku's shoulder. Strong muscled arms, strong enough to strangle him if they chose, but they didn't; they were exceedingly gentle, and very warm.

Oh, he liked this very much.

"Pssh, okay, don't take the compliment," Ikkaku let him go, grinning as he practically chucked the chopped meat into the frying pan.

"Wait!" Yumichika held out a hand in a 'stop' gesture, a 'please, no' expression on his face.

Ikkaku jumped, "Holy shit, what's the matter?"

"You didn't put the breading on yet," Yumichika pointed out. "Fish it out." He gestured to the frying pan and the sizzling meat.

Ikkaku stared for a minute, pursing his lips, "I'll just eat that ruined piece, it's no big deal."

"Guh, always difficult," Yumichika said, shaking his head when Ikkaku replied with 'difficult thy name is burnt-ass fingers'. Haruki hopped up onto the counter, curling up to watch them with interested eyes, particularly the raw meat.

"Sooooo... baby," Ikkaku said, looming over him with his hands behind his back.

"What," Yumichika answered flatly, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I know you don't wanna' talk about Kaa anymore-" Yumichika tried to cut him off, but Ikkaku plowed on, "I'm just tryin' ta' ask, like... Did he ever do anything with you that you have good memories of?"

Yumichika stared at him with his mouth open. "Are you asking me how he got me in bed?"

"No, no, no, _sheesh,_" Ikkaku rubbed his face with a hand, trying to convey that he wasn't trying to get him in the sack, "I'm just, like... What did he..." he tried to think of a better way to phrase the sentence. "Something you did together that you enjoyed- _not pervy_ stuff, like a happy memory that you always did when you still had that... fire for each other,"

Yumichika was quiet for a minute, going back to cooking. Ikkaku thought that he might not answer, so he sighed a little and got back to work. "He took me to nightclubs."

"And you liked it?"

"Yes, I used to party a lot, and he still does. We have a long history, but that's how we first met. We'd both snuck in, because we were far underage."

"You met at a club?" Yumichika nodded. "So you like dancing."

"He wasn't interested in dancing, you know how-" Ikkaku grimaced, imagining Kaa grinding on Yumichika before even knowing his name. "Yes, like that, you know how I mean. But _I_ like dancing. Every time we came back, he was picking up girls and buying them alcohol."

"I'm not a good dancer, but it's still lotsa' fun. Whenever you wanna' go, let's go," Ikkaku said simply, becoming paranoid after a second of silence, "Unless, like... it would bring up bad memories,"

Yumichika was just looking at him with this indescribable expression. "Where have you been all my life?"

Ikkaku scuffed his toe on the ground, turning away, trying to busy his hands with _something._ "Fuck, you are... somethin' else... So, uhhh... Does he _always_ forget your birthday? He's gotten you _something_ before right? What kinda' stuff do you like?"

"Umm... He doesn't forget my birthday, exactly."

"So what, he just-"

"-Chooses not to get me a gift. He does other things sometimes though," Yumichika said in his defense. Ikkaku looked up at him.

"Oh? Like what?" Yumichika turned beet-red, like he was wishing he hadn't brought this up. Ikkaku figured that that meant that Kaa did _favors_ for him. "Oh... well... What should I get you then?"

Yumichika looked extremely grateful to have gotten out of saying _that_ out loud, "Um, I like music, and food, and art. Flowers. Horror movies. Beautiful things - I like for people to make my gifts. Like a card, or a birdhouse, or... I don't know, something that I'll use, like a blanket. What do you like?"

"I like to watch soccer. Video games. Chicken wings... Ahh... Beer," Ikkaku finished, already trying to plan out what he'd get Yumichika if he was lucky enough to keep him long enough.

"Simple man," Yumichika mused. "You know what they say about the only way to a man's heart." Ikkaku turned red. "I meant food."

"Oh," he said awkwardly, "Why don't you go relax while I finish up here," he said, not meeting Yumichika's smug judge-mental face.

"I'll go make my bed, and put some pajamas on,"

"While you're at it, picka' movie, or maybe a video game. I could kick your ass at mariokart,"

"We'll see about that,"

* * *

"Mmm," Renji moaned into Ichigo's mouth, back pressed into the carpet, hair in his eyes as his lover held his face and kissed him hard, "I thought we were playing the game," he gasped, rolling his hips upwards desperately, trying to pull the man straddling him closer.

"Forget the game," Ichigo said breathily, and Renji laughed, shivers going down his spine. He could still hear the game going in the background. Renji had beaten him at a minigame, and had started to gloat, but had gotten jumped.

Renji wrapped his arms around Ichigo's neck, pulling his lips back down to him, and _damn_ if there was anything he loved more than kissing Ichigo. He could feel hands pulling his shirt up, skating over his tattoos, and hips grinding down onto his. "Ooohh, just like that." He slid his hands down over Ichigo's back to grab his hips and press upwards.

Ichigo gripped his biceps and exhaled wantonly, licking along Renji's lower lip, before biting gently. "Ya' know how long it's been?"

"Long enough," Renji moaned, letting Ichigo open his belt and yank his jeans down partway. "Thought that dry spell was gonna' kill me, babe, _Ahhh-"_

Ichigo grabbed him through his underwear, squeezing just right, hard enough to draw out a loud needy noise from him. Renji bit his knuckles when he heard a broom hit the ceiling from the floor below them. Luckily, there was another gay couple living in that room, so they were usually understanding. They just had to try not to make it sound like someone was being murdered.

"Wait, so do we flip a coin then? We didn't finish the game." Ichigo blinked at him, before getting up and scrambling to his wallet, flipping something. Renji heard the coin hit the kitchen tile as he palmed the hard bulge through his boxer-shorts. _Fuck_, it had been a long time.

"Wait, what's what?"

Ichigo groaned, head sagging back onto his shoulders. He picked up the coin, standing up straight again with a thoughtful expression. "Heads, you get head, Tails, you get tail."

Renji smiled widely, pulling at his hard-on. "That sounds real good."

Ichigo flipped the coin, smacking it backwards onto his arm, "Hm, Hm, Hmmmm. My ass better not be sore tomorrow."

"You're not gonna' remember your _name_ tomorrow," Renji grabbed him by the waist and threw him over his shoulder, hiking up his pants as he carried him down the hall to their bedroom.

Ichigo laughed as he was thrown down onto the bed and pounced on, "Mm, you smell so good," Renji sucked on Ichigo's pulse point, teasing with his teeth, and the smaller man moaned, trying to worm out of his clothes.

Ichigo loved having Renji above him like this, hair hanging down, broad muscular chest and shoulders splayed out over him. Though he'd never admit it, he liked that Renji was a bit bigger than he was, and that he fit perfectly in his strong arms.

And _damn,_ those tattoos.

"Lemme' do that," Renji said huskily, sitting Ichigo up so he could strip him down, but Ichigo just pushed him onto his back, straddling him again, and took his shirt off really slowly, swaying his body, enjoying the reverent hands on his thighs and sides. "Oh fuck, _don't_," Renji seriously was gonna' make a mess in his pants if Ichigo was gonna' striptease on top of him.

"Holy fuck," Ichigo mumbled with a grin, looking down at Renji's crotch, which had literally jumped beneath him, "I felt something."

"You're too hot for your own good," Renji mumbled, "I'm tellin' you, you little minx, _I _wanna' do it," Renji grabbed his forearms and rolled him over onto his back, pinning his arms down and kissing him hard, tongue dominating his mouth. He could taste popcorn and strawberries, and it was driving him nuts. He pressed his hips down over Ichigo's, enjoying the whimper he received.

He kissed and sucked his way down Ichigo's chest, teasing him by sliding his fingers around the waistband of his pants. Renji cringed when he moved his hands up his lover's sides, distinctly feeling ribs - he'd lost a lot of muscle mass.

Luckily the school year was almost over, and then he'd fatten Ichigo up on take-out again. They had used to go to the gym together all the time in high school; Renji missed things like that a lot.

After slowly unbuttoning Ichigo's jeans and sliding the zipper down, he yanked them down and off his legs; then he dragged Ichigo's briefs down with his teeth, smiling roguishly. Ichigo covered his eyes with a hand and let out a breathy moan as his face turned red.

Renji pushed Ichigo's legs back under the knees, and left a hickey or two on his thighs. "Last time we're wearing a condom, I swear to god," Renji mumbled, "I know I've been makin' excuse for years, but I'm ready ta' go get checked with ya', okay? I'll always be just for you." Ichigo didn't uncover his eyes, but his lips pulled upward into that brilliant smile.

After quickly running to the bathroom to grab lube and a condom, Renji jumped on the bed, tossing his underwear behind him, getting them hooked on the ceiling fan. He pressed his chest to Ichigo's, large body hulking over him as he took his face in his hands and kissed him.

Ichigo sighed sweetly, holding him around the neck, body arching up when Renji's hands ran down his sides. They broke away and Renji looked into his eyes for a few seconds, rubbing his cheek with a thumb. Ichigo tried to move the curtain of red hair out of the way, smiling up at him.

The smile quickly turned to a shocked moan when Renji moved down and licked a trail up his erection, taking it in his mouth without hesitation. Renji didn't normally give blowjobs, because Ichigo was so embarrassed to watch him, but he seemed really eager tonight.

And he was _good_ at it too. Ichigo half-sat up, moaning loudly and snaring his fingers in Renji's hair as he felt his nose brush his abdomen, head hitting the back of Renji's throat.

He flopped backwards, panting as Renji started twisting his head, timing his hand with a swirl of his tongue. His other hand held Ichigo's hips down, humming to tease him as he scraped his teeth lightly along the pulsating shaft. He smiled when Ichigo's legs twitched and his toes curled.

Ichigo looked down with a blush that was slowly starting to spread, holding the back of Renji's head with one hand, other halfway in his own mouth to shut himself up. It wasn't really working, and Renji flicked his eyes up to Ichigo's, sucking hard, going all the way down and swallowing. "Ooh-ohh, hahhhh," Ichigo started to breathe hard, tilting his head back as Renji started to rub his saliva-coated thumb over his perineum, further down to poke inside of him and massage his rim.

Renji always seemed to know the _exact_ moment when enough was enough, because just as he was about to come, Renji pinned his hips down on both sides, and withdrew with a hungry groan. Ichigo sat up and grabbed his face, kissing him passionately, sighing happily as Renji lifted his legs and nudged himself in-between them. He wrapped his arms under Ichigo's back and pulled him to his body, laying him down.

Ichigo bit his neck and worked his way up to his ear, licking along the shell and teasing with his teeth. Renji moaned, eyes fluttering back as he staggered, arms nearly unable to hold him up above his lover's body. He could feel Ichigo's hand sliding down between them to gather some saliva and from his still-wet penis and rub it around his entrance. Renji pulled back so he could watch.

He knew Ichigo hated it when he watched, but he just looked _so_ delicious when he did it.

Ichigo blushed, growling at him and covering his own face again as Renji lay down on his stomach, presumably to watch closer. "Do you have to- _Ahh, fuck._"

Renji stuck in two lube-coated fingers, along with his tongue, pressing his cheek into Ichigo's thigh. Ichigo's hand went slack and his stomach tightened, erection twitching.

"Now, right now," Ichigo moaned, turning over, pressing his chest to the mattress, rear in the air. Renji groaned at the view, squeezing his pert butt.

"No, no, I wanna' look atcha'," Renji said, turning Ichigo back over onto his back, "I love ta' look at you, babe." He tore open a condom with his teeth, sliding the plastic over his length with a sigh. When he looked back at Ichigo, the younger man had a stricken embarrassed look on his face.

"That's the hottest fucking thing I've ever seen."

"Besides me going down on you. Don't lie."

"Shut up,"

Renji smiled, getting closer to Ichigo, putting one hand next to his face to hold himself up. He coated the outside of the condom with a liberal amount of lube, so much that it was dripping. He knew that the latex really hurt Ichigo a lot, more than the stubborn idiot would admit.

"Ready?"

"Ready," Ichigo said, holding his own legs open. Renji got closer, hulking over him as he lined himself up with one hand, moaning as he slipped the head in.

"Ah, fuck... Oh fucking- _Ah_, Why are you so damn big?!" Ichigo shouted, gritting his teeth as Renji slid all the way in. He was tighter than usual, and Renji looked down with concern.

"Is it really that bad?... I shoulda' known, we haven't done it in a while..." He sat still, feeling the heartbeat pounding through his cock match up with the pulsating of Ichigo's passage. It was so tight that it was actually hurting _him_ a little.

"This hurts worse than the first time," Ichigo panted, head falling back. Renji jolted in shock. Ichigo's first time had been a _disaster_, because it had been _Renji's_ first time too.

"Oh fuck, what should I do?" He _really_ didn't want to hear Ichigo beg him to take it out, but he didn't wanna' hurt him either.

"Just... Just wait," Ichigo said tiredly, snaking a hand down to his own erection after licking his palm. After about a minute and a half, Renji sighed in relief, as Ichigo's muscles no longer were trying to crush the hell out of him.

Ichigo's legs hooked around his waist, and his fingers dug into Renji's ass, pulling him forward. Renji moaned, leaning down to kiss him, twining his tongue with his lover's.

"Y-you moron, Ahhh," Ichigo gasped, gritting his teeth at the persistent, but lessened pain of the stretching, as Renji moved slowly inside him, rolling his hips leisurely. He grabbed Ichigo's hands and laced their fingers together, kissing him on his face.

"I love you... I know I've been upsettin' you lately, and... things have been real difficult..." Ichigo mumbled something like 'tell me about it', groaning as the large girth moving inside him started to draw pleasure along with the aching. " And I'm sorry, I really am. But I love you, alright? Just remember that, we'll get through this. I promise we'll make it,"

"Let's not talk about this now," Ichigo said as calmly as he could with a dick inside him, "I have a name to forget."

"You freaking dork," Renji grinned, lifting Ichigo's hips up so he could speed up, moving deeper. "Ah fuck, it's way too tight, do you want me ta' stop? This can't feel good ta' you,"

"Just go slower," Ichigo gasped, as Renji changed angles to try to find a more comfortable spot, rolling his hips slow and deep. Immediately there was an intense heat radiating from Ichigo's body as he relaxed, tingling all over. "Ohh, that's- _Nnnh,"_

He could tell right when he hit Ichigo's sweet spot, because his whole body would shudder and spasm from the pleasure each time he thrust. "_Ah_, Oh my god," Ichigo panted, moaning loudly. "Harder, just a little harder - _Ahhh,_" he grit his teeth, screwing his eyes shut, before his body twitched at the intense euphoria caused by the deep pounding of Renji's hips.

When he regained ability to speak, he slid his hand to the back of Renji's head, pulling him down to kiss him, "How could I ever leave ya'... What're you scared about, you big idiot,"

Renji didn't answer, horrified that his throat was going tight with emotion, because suddenly the thought of losing this, what they had between them, was far too much for him to handle. If this was the last time they'd ever make love, how could he go on? He had _nothing_ without Ichigo. He had no family, no home to go back to – Ichigo had given him everything that this unwanted stray dog had never had. Love, and a home, and a _chance, _and a family with two beautiful girls, and a dopey father. What would he do if he was right about losing Ichigo soon?

Renji grit his teeth, rolling his hips more slowly and passionately, giving Ichigo shivers at the long deep contact to his prostate. He looked so damn beautiful right now, splayed out beneath him with that look on his face; my fucking _god,_ Renji loved him. Leaning down, he kissed Ichigo with everything he had, pulling out so he could lay Ichigo on his side and press himself behind him.

"You comfy?" Ichigo nodded a couple times, out of breath and flushed in the face from exertion. "Ah, geez, I'm sticking to the sheets," Renji snickered a little, peeling them off his sweaty back.

Renji could practically hear Ichigo's heartbeat, strong and aroused, running through his whole body. He kissed his way up Ichigo's arm, tasting salt, ending at his knuckles as he wrapped his tattooed arm around Ichigo's chest.

"Love you, Ichigo," he mumbled, tipping his forehead onto Ichigo's sweaty hair, enjoying the thick heated smell, mixed with a little bit of fruity-mint conditioner. It smelled like Ichigo's pillow; one of those _home_ smells. "Very much," he rubbed his thumb over Ichigo's stomach, listening to the sound of his breathing and the pounding drum of his own heart.

Ichigo was quiet for a moment, lacing his fingers with Renji's big hand. "I love you," he whispered as Renji kissed the back of his neck, pulling them skin to skin. Renji's heart melted – Ichigo hardly ever said it straight like that, and that made it really special, to hear it said like a secret.

Renji nudged Ichigo's top leg up, getting into position behind him. He broke their handhold for a moment to rub some more lube on the plastic of the condom, and to stroke Ichigo with the oil a couple times, just to enjoy the noises he made.

He slipped back inside slowly, enjoying the new angle and the way that Ichigo fit so nicely against him, in his arms. "Mmm, I missed this… You feel so good this close," he whispered in Ichigo's ear, moving down to suck on his neck, relishing the salty taste of Ichigo's sweat-pinpricked skin.

"Ahh," Ichigo grit his teeth at the shivery sensation, rolling his hips back to force Renji in deeper, heat pouring from his arousal, "_Ahnn_, Renji,"

Ichigo laughed a little breathlessly, feeling Renji twitch inside of him at the sound of his name – it had to be insanely arousing, because Renji moaned a little, growling at him with a laugh. "I'm so damn lucky," he whispered, rolling his hips slowly, eventually speeding up as Ichigo began to pant and whine, jacking himself off in desperation to let some of the pressure out.

Renji held Ichigo's leg in the air, enjoying his boyfriend's loud moaning as a smacking sound filled the room. "More," he begged, back sticking to Renji's sweaty chest. Renji licked his shoulder, biting a little; he knotted his fingers tightly in Ichigo's hair, pulling at the sensitive scalp. Ichigo began shivering violently, "Renji, ohhhh,"

"Nnn-hhhh," Renji bit his lip, screwing his eyes shut. He was a bit embarrassed that his stamina had regressed over that sex-drought, because he was already about to come, and he could tell that Ichigo was aroused enough to go all night long.

He pulled Ichigo's hips back onto his own, thrusting sharply to fit his need, "Clench up," he whispered, gasping when his orgasm hit as soon as Ichigo did. Renji's toes curled as he came, so much that he could hear some burst out of the condom. He moaned loudly as Ichigo pulled his hair just the way he liked it, leaving him shaky in the knees.

Panting, he pulled out and peeled the messy condom off, chucking it in the trashcan. Ichigo lay waiting for him, moaning loudly with a laugh when Renji turned him onto his stomach and squeezed his ass, licking around his entrance with his tongue as he stuck his fingers in, curling them slightly. Ichigo pushed his hips up so he could reach his aching hard-on.

Renji made an obscene noise, laughing lowly, sticking his tongue in deep with a powerful movement. Ichigo shuddered and moaned, especially when Renji dug his fingertips into his fleshy thighs.

"Turn over." Ichigo flopped onto his back, hardly any energy left.

Renji pulled his hair back with one hand, twisting the fingers inside of Ichigo as he deep-throated him, sucking hard one last time. "Ahh, god," Ichigo gasped, digging his nails into his boyfriend's scalp, "Renji," he moaned, as he came.

He blushed, moaning and shivering as Renji swallowed his cum, maintaining eye-contact through his orgasm. And then Ichigo went limp, panting on the sweaty sheets. Renji crawled to him on shaking legs, picking him up and carrying him to the shower.

They sat on the floor in the water, and Ichigo fell asleep against Renji's chest, head tucked into the hollow under Renji's chin. Renji washed him gently, not wanting to disturb him and that peaceful look he had on his face.

Renji smiled when he carried Ichigo back to bed, and the orange-head cuddled up to him in his sleep, murmuring his name.

This was what made all the stress and shouting worth it. This was what he couldn't bear to lose. This happiness – he wanted this to never end between them. He'd like his life to stay this way forever – him and Ichigo here together, as a team, as family.

Ichigo adjusted his head on his chest, mumbling quietly.

Renji smiled at the cheesy thought that had suddenly popped into his head, knowing Ichigo would kick his ass if he sang that Beatle's song about strawberries near him.

'That's what heaven would be like', he thought tiredly, as his eyes began to droop, petting Ichigo's wet hair clumsily. The two of them lying in a strawberry patch, out in the open air, with a big blue sky, eating sweet, sun-warmed fruit until their teeth were red.

But hopefully their vacation would fix all that. They'd never kissed on a rollercoaster before. But that might result in red teeth too -_ bloody_ teeth - so maybe Renji wouldn't try that.

He grinned as he fell asleep, feeling warm all over.

* * *

Yumichika awoke suddenly in the night, sitting bolt upright as he heard a sound of smashing glass from outside Ikkaku's room.

He listened hard for any footsteps or slamming doors, but his ears were met with suppressing, suffocating silence. His heart pounded wildly as he clutched Haruki as tightly as he dared. That had definitely happened in _their kitchen._

He started to get a sick-feeling deep in the pit of his stomach, becoming extremely frightened, wondering if the bedroom had a lock on the door. Peeking up over the edge of Ikkaku's bed, he squinted, trying to divine if it could've been Ikkaku up and about at three a.m. breaking shit in the dark.

But no, Ikkaku was still there in bed, sleeping peacefully, with a hand up his shirt and mouth agape. Yumichika got up quietly, letting Haruki hide under the bed while he slowly put his weight on the mattress. Creeping in next to Ikkaku, he nudged him a little, trying to rouse him gently.

"Ikkaku," he hissed, rubbing his finger up and down the bridge of his nose, gently flicking his eyelashes. Ikkaku twitched and jerked awake with a grunt, wiping his eyes.

"Hm? Whatsa' matter," Ikkaku asked sleepily, not fully lucid, "Ya' cold? Here sweethear', thurs' plenty a' room, dunnbe' shy," he mumbled in a thick street accent, holding up the blankets for Yumichika to get under, tightening an arm around the smaller man's waist like a python trying to choke its prey.

"Ikkaku, someone's in the house," Yumichika whispered urgently, shaking him, hands trembling. Ikkaku's eyes opened wide.

"What?"

"I heard something shatter," Yumichika tried to explain, not wanting Ikkaku to look at him with that shocked, but slightly disbelieving look, "Glass breaking,"

"It could've been the neighbors. Some'a' them work night-shifts,"

"No, it was close by." Ikkaku sat up, listening to the dead silence for a full thirty seconds, before getting up.

"You stay right here," he whispered, going to his closet, pulling out a long case of polished black wood, which he set on the bed. Yumichika thought maybe it was a shot-gun, but when it was opened, it revealed a sword. Who the hell had swords these days? And what good would that do against a robber that might have a pistol?

Ikkaku took it in hand and padded silently to the door, opening it without a sound. He looked out, listening to the quiet, before he shut it again, and turned to look at Yumichika with a somber expression, "I mean it, you stay in here," he whispered, before sliding the door open. Yumichika sat on the bed, watching him with wide eyes as he crept down the hallway in a battle-ready manner.

After a full ten minutes alone in the dark, Ikkaku came back in and put his sword away, "There's no one. The windows are still open, but no one coulda' come in cuz' we're three floors up. An' the door's locked too. But you're right about a glass bein' broke. It probably just fell from the cabinet. Maybe one'a'tha' neighbor's slammed the door, and it fell by itself." Ikkaku climbed back over the bed with a yawn.

Suddenly there came a loud crashing sound, and some frantic screaming, causing Yumichika to 'eep' and cling to Ikkaku's chest, freezing solid.

"Tha' hell'zat?" Ikkaku asked aloud, getting up _again_ and listening, before padding down the hallway, hopping over the covered-couch and going to the front door. "Freakin' again?" Yumichika followed silently, to watch.

After listening a few more seconds, Ikkaku opened the door, "Hey, what tha' hell'r'ya' doin'?"

Yumichika could see a woman with smeared makeup and her dress hanging off her body – presumably _she_ was the person who'd been screaming. A man had his hand in a fist around her forearm, and her purse was on the ground.

"Ay', she _sed'_ she got mugged, she's nah' cheatin', you idiot, now _yer'_ the one muggin' er'. Now leave er' alone, wha' kinda' man're you, makin' yer' woman protect _herself _from _you_," Ikkaku shouted much too loudly, still half asleep. He probably wasn't waking up anyone, due to the fact that the screaming had most likely woken them up first.

"Hey, mind your own business man, we're walkin' here,"

"Yer' screamin' yer' heads off here in fronta' my door, it _is_ my business, this'z my neighbor gettin' harassed by tha' sorry likesa' you while she's sloshed. Who'z'gunna' water my plants if ya' kill 'er, you dick?"

"You wanna' fight?"

"I _wanna'_ fuckin' sleep," Ikkaku sneered, getting in the guy's face cracking his knuckles with dark eyes, "So you _go_, er' I'm callin' tha' police on yer' ass for disrupting the sleep of everyone in the goddamn building and fer' assaulting yer' own girl. How embarrassing would that be? Yumi', why' don'tcha' go call 'em," he said in the same tone, without turning around, which made Yumichika have to double-take if he was actually speaking to him.

"Hey, nah, nah, f'get this," the guy backed off and left, and the girl scrambled away, fumbling to get her keys out to get inside her apartment.

"G'night, Carly. You should make a police report in the morning, if you need a witness, just call, er' knock," Ikkaku said sleepily, scratching the back of his neck as he kicked the door shut and walked back past Yumichika into the kitchen to sweep up the glass. "Fuck, third times the charm, huh?" he grouched to himself.

Yumichika blinked. Ikkaku was right – he'd gotten into some sort of public altercation three days in a row now. It was pick-on-Madarame week or something. Maybe he was just a magnet for those kinds of things, because Ikkaku wasn't really one to keep his head down and ignore it when things were going on in front of his face. He was one to thrive within conflict.

Yumichika's heart slowed as Ikkaku squatted on the tile and chucked the pieces into the trash can, shutting the cabinet door. "This happens often?"

"Very often. Go on back to bed, sweetheart," Yumichika crept back down the hallway, sitting on the floor in the dark for a few minutes as he listened to Ikkaku alternate between cussing and singing sleepily as he cleaned the glass dust with a broom.

When he came back in the bedroom, he shut the door with a yawn, and got back under the covers, looking over the edge of the bed when he realized Yumichika wasn't on the mattress with him,"Whatcha' doin' down there," he yawned, "Ya' scared? Ya' look pale," he mumbled, settling in with a sleepy moan of release, sinking into the bed.

Yumichika didn't respond, because he didn't want to admit how much that all had frightened him. Everything was scarier at night. "You can sleep up here, don't be shy," Ikkaku whispered, sounding more like his awake self, fluffing his pillow and getting comfortable. "Sorry for getting so loud, I didn't scare ya' did I? I didn't mean ta', babe, I just wanted ta' scare that jerk away. Come here, come next ta' me," he yawned, gesturing for him to get in bed.

Ikkaku was treating it like it wasn't a big deal to get in bed with him, so maybe it _wasn't _really that big of a deal. Maybe that was something like holding hands that people did together – he didn't know. But then again, Ikkaku had admitted that he didn't date, so _he_ probably didn't know either. But if he didn't think it was a huge scandalous thing, then maybe it wasn't. Yumichika had wanted to try something a little different anyways.

Yumichika nodded hesitantly, lying down under the blankets straight as a board, stiffly pressing his face to the mattress. "Here, don't lay so far away, you'll be cold, c'mere,"

He scootched in a little bit, apparently enough so that Ikkaku could reach him, because he grabbed his arm and pulled him across the bed to lie next to him in a heated place of mattress and blankets. "There, that's better," Ikkaku sighed, withdrawing and keeping his hands to himself.

For some reason, that made him feel a little safer, so Yumichika wormed in just a little closer, and hesitantly curled his fingers around a portion of Ikkaku's t-shirt. Kaa would never sleep in a bed with him. He'd either be out late, go sleep somewhere else after they'd have sex, or just plain sleep in a separate bed. The closest they'd come would be falling asleep watching television, but _never_ in bed... This was really nice.

After that silent invitation of approaching Ikkaku, a muscled arm wormed around his back and pulled him in, gently stroking his hair. He must have been shaking, because Ikkaku whispered some reassuring words, "I could hear ya' havin' nightmares earlier… I won't let anything happen, okay?… I won't let him come near ya'… Won't let nobody hurt ya'… Nothing ta' worry about, babe…" he whispered sleepily.

Yumichika relaxed. Even if someone _had_ broken in, Ikkaku could take care of him. If Kaa really was after him, Ikkaku would protect him. Nothing to worry about, except maybe liking this embrace a lot more than he should.

When Kaa held him, there was always some motivation behind it – Ikkaku just wanted to hold him, to hold him, and that was a little thrilling to Yumichika. This was really nice; so warm.

He could feel Ikkaku's face press into his hair, not in a kiss, but in a tightly pressed hug of some kind. Ikkaku's strong chest slowly started to even out in breathing, "G'night, sweets,"

"Good night," Yumichika closed his eyes, sighing peacefully.

* * *

Ichigo woke up with his head on a muscular torso, and with a hand running absently through his hair. He swallowed, blinking, and smiled a tiny bit as he looked up and saw Renji reading a textbook with his reading glasses on and his hair down.

There was soft music playing, and Renji flipped a page quietly, sitting naked on top of the blankets. Ichigo couldn't so much _hear_ Renji humming, as he could _feel_ it, through his big chest vibrating against his face.

He smiled, blinking sleepily, dozing for a few minutes before putting his arm around Renji's waist and snuggling closer, "Mornin' gorgeous."

Renji coughed awkwardly, looking down with a strained smile. Ichigo smiled. The big lug always teased him when terms of affection came out on accident – besides loving to tease him, it was because Renji didn't know how to take compliments from him. "I didn't see ya' were awake,"

"Don't lemme' bother you, keep workin'," Ichigo settled in next to him, forehead pressed to his side as he trailed his fingers soothingly over Renji's stomach tattoos. "Want me ta' make you breakfast?"

"Uh," Renji said, already caught back up in studying, "Yeah, that's real sweet, babe,"

Ichigo made him some cereal with fruit in it, ass-naked, "You're the best, baby... Feed me the first bite, Mee-do-chan,"

Ichigo scowled at him, but conceded to lift the spoon to his mouth, threatening him with bodily harm if he ever _dared_ set foot in a maid café. Renji growled at him, grinning widely after taking a bite.

"Don't study now, it's so early," Ichigo whined, trying to pull him out of bed to the shower. "Who's gonna' wash my back?"

"It's ten," Renji said blandly, looking at the clock.

"Much too early," Ichigo yawned. Oh yeah. Night school. His lover was turning nocturnal right before his eyes.

"Alright, okay, I'm goin'," Renji got up with an audible creak in his back, stretching his legs out. "This is gonna' be the first vacation we can't have sex on, this _blows._"

"It's our first vacation, _period_, you dolt. And no way are we sneaking sex anywhere near our friends, so don't even get the idea in your head. We're going to relax and have fun."

"I'm sure the hotel has a pool."

"No pool-sex, Renji,"

"No, I meant we could sneak in the-"

"No locker-room sex, Renji."

"No, I _meant_ the-"

_"No shower-sex, Renji," _Ichigo raised his voice, shouting in Renji's ear.

"Aw, c'mon," Renji pouted. Ichigo grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the bathroom.

"_This_ shower, however..." Renji grinned, and nabbed him by his naked waist, pulling him back into his chest.

"Gimme' a kiss," he demanded, worming Ichigo around so he could fully enjoy the skin-on-skin feeling. Ichigo tilted his head up to meet Renji's lips. "Can't we mess around just a _little_ bit?"

"Right now, yeah, but not on vacation. They'll never let us live it down if we're caught."

"We never get caught," Renji whined.

"_We've gotten caught!"_ Ichigo shouted with a blush. Renji tried to pout, but the memory of the incident had him fighting a smile off his face, "Wipe that smirk off your face, or I'm locking you out of here,"

"Aw babe, c'mon."

Ichigo started brushing his teeth, ignoring him, so Renji took the opportunity to comb the ends of his hair while pinning Ichigo against the sink with his body.

Ichigo stared at him flatly through them mirror, probably upset about the thing wedged between his butt-cheeks, but he didn't say anything; he just sighed whilst rolling his eyes nearly out of his head.

Renji kissed the back of his neck, smiling softly as he traced a lock of his own hair over Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo spat in the sink, trying to push Renji back with his foot, but only succeeding in getting trapped in a hug, "Hey-"

"If you say anything about sun, sunshine, or the 'you are my sunshine' song, I will rip something vital off of you,"

"Well, fuck, Kaminari-sama," Renji snickered, snatching his own toothbrush as Ichigo turned on the shower water, sitting on the toilet seat with his arm outstretched to test the temperature.

"Hey, you know I'm just kidding, right?" Ichigo looked at him with a flat face, hiding concern. Renji smiled back.

"Che', yeah. No feelings hurt or nothin'."

"Mmng, Yeah," Ichigo mumbled, "But I know stuff gets ta' ya', an' ya' don't speak up… Mn, Just, forget it," he said, not liking the sappy sound of where that thread of thought was going.

"Someone's sentimental this morning," he said while brushing his teeth. Ichigo threw a bar of soap at him and hit him in the leg, causing him to laugh enough that he almost choked on toothpaste froth.

"Just get in here so I can _clean _you," Renji's eyes popped and he nearly tripped over himself as he shoved his toothbrush and comb in the sink, jumping in the shower to grab that slippery, soapy body.

* * *

Ikkaku yawned, rolling out of bed when he saw that Yumichika had already gotten up, probably to save them from any awkwardness of 'the morning after'. He could already imagine it:

'_What happened last night? Did we fuck?'_

'_Well I remember snuggling a lot,'_

'_Oh hell no, I'd better not get fucking pregnant, I'll sue the hell out of you-'_

'_I know you and Ichigo forget that we're all gay sometimes, but just a reminder, we're both men fucking men,'_

'_What the hell, your blankets don't match your pillowcases, _sacrilege!'

'_This is fucking ridiculous, one of us should be making bacon and toast,'_

'_What are you thinking about this scenario for anyways? You haven't even kissed me yet. By the way, where the hell am I?'_

'_Oh yeah-' _Ikkaku looked up as his imagined Yumichika began to sound more and more like himself. Where _was_ the pretty boy?

He heard a screech from the bathroom. 'The hell is that?' he thought, scratching his stomach through his t-shirt-pajamas, moving over there and knocking on the door.

"What the hell, Yumichika?" he shouted through the door, hearing the shower running. "Did you fall in the toilet or something? Shark in the bathtub?"

"I forgot _all _my beauty products! How could I forget!? I can't go outside like this, this is a _tragedy!_"

Ikkaku frowned for a minute, failing to see what was causing the tragedy he spoke of. Maybe he'd better check on him in case he'd hit his head and was just talking blabber-nonsense due to delirium, "Are you decent?"

"No! Did you even hear me? I'm a _disaster,_"

"I mean, do you have clothes on?"

"Yes," Yumichika said sarcastically, "They do little for my face though, I'm literally going to die, oh my god, how could I forget?!"

"Open the door, what are you doing?!" Ikkaku shouted, smiling crookedly. This was kind of funny to listen to. Did this idiot really think he needed that stuff?

"Weeping hysterically,"

"Open the door," Ikkaku said exasperatedly, deciding to just crack it open when Yumichika kept refusing, because his face was too ugly to be seen. "I'm coming in,"

"No!" Yumichika tried to shove the door, but Ikkaku wormed his arm into the gap, even though he was getting crushed, "Get out! You can't see me!"

Ikkaku stuck his foot in at the bottom and pushed the door open steadily to avoid slamming Yumichika into the wall. "I'm sure you look fin- Oh my God," he did a gasp, making a horrified face, halfway- genuinely shocked, halfway-just trying to tease him.

Yumichika apparently bought it, because he dropped to his knees in embarrassment, moaning in misery. His hair was a little messy, and there were some purple circles under his eyes from waking up in the night, but there seriously wasn't a flaw on his face anywhere. In fact, his skin was glowing more than usual, and his eyes were brighter.

Now that Ikkaku was scrutinizing him for even the smallest blackhead, he noticed how big and glowing Yumichika's eyes were. Violet; what a nice color, and with such long eyelashes. His skin was a nice opaque cream color, and his hair was shiny, but messy, sticking up in odd places, part out of line.

"You look so fucking cute," Ikkaku said with a scrunched up face, as if horrified at how adorable his new boyfriend was.

"Shut your lying mouth, you imbecile! How could you let me leave my apartment without _anything?!_ This is your fault!" Yumichika punched his ankle, wailing in distress. "You don't even have any conditioner. Or any combs!"

"Do I have to say why, you dope?" Ikkaku pointed to his head, "The hell, do you think I comb my fucking carpet?"

Yumichika just whined into his knees, until Ikkaku made him stand up and look at him. "Stop putting your hands over your face," Yumichika began stomping his feet like he was throwing a tantrum, whine-screaming as he clenched his hands over his face. "What's the matter with you, you idiot," Ikkaku started laughing and tried to hug him, which made Yumichika go stiff from confusion.

"You're so fucking stupid," Ikkaku said with a happy sigh.

"Why are you smiling then?" Yumichika asked curiously, cautiously looking up. Holy _fuck_, was he beautiful.

"Cause' it's fucking… I don't know," Ikkaku didn't know how to explain the surge of affection he felt. He couldn't just be like bam, 'it's cause I love you and your fucking whining, you stupid prissy fucker'. "Look, can't you wash your hair with bodywash? That's supposed ta' be like soap, isn't it? That's in there, see?" Ikkaku nudged the shower curtain aside, showing him the bottle.

"Soap isn't the same as shampoo. Besides, I don't want to smell like _you,"_

"What, are you tellin' me I smell?" Ikkaku cautiously tested his armpit – he just sort of smelled like paint mostly.

"No, I just… Hm. It's just something I've always avoided in relationships."

"Smelling like your boyfriend? What, did they try to rub their armpits on you or something? C'mere," he joked, lifting his arm up and towing Yumichika closer by the arm.

"No, you're probably sweaty," Yumichika laughed, shoving him away, before suddenly looking with interest. "Wow, you don't have any hair there either,"

"Yeah, thank god. I'd smell like rotting meat, and then I'd have people moving away from me at the gym. So what's that about not wanting ta' use my soap, ya' don't wanna' smell like yer' squeeze? C'mon, squeeze me, life handed you a lemon,"

"Stupid," Yumichika mumbled with this dumb-ass grin on his face, almost forgetting about his problem of having none of his beauty products. It was strange. He felt really pretty all of a sudden, even with a naked face and fucked-up hair; Ikkaku was looking at him with glowing eyes, like he was the most beautiful thing in the world.

So different, so very different from Kaa, who would only look at himself in the mirror, who only saw himself and his own beauty, and never Yumichika's. Kaa looked through him, while Ikkaku _saw_ him, saw _into_ him.

Yumichika looked down at his toes, smiling, curling his messy hair behind his ear. "No… it's like… Hm… I liked to swap pillowcases when they're on trips, and… wear their sweaters and stuff, occasionally. It's supposed to be…"

"Special, I get it. An' you're probably better off with your own good-smell," Ikkaku said. "Well look, comb your hair with your fingers, and brush your- Wait did you even forget your toothbrush?"

Yumichika nodded with a grimace, "I was still a little messed up from yesterday when I was packing; Scatter-brained from too many crises at once. But wow, I can't _believe_ I didn't remember. If you tell Renji and Ichigo about this, they'll probably be shocked enough to stop talking for a little while,"

"Pfft," Ikkaku covered his mouth, starting to laugh, turning around. Yumichika smiled, biting at his lips, trying to look serious. "Okay, look, I have to get ready ta' go to my neice's baptism, blu-blah,"

"Yes?"

"So, I gotta' shower and get dressed n' shit, so, if you wanna' drive yerself' back ta' yer' house, to tha' store, to getchyer' stuff, whatever, go ahead. And then if ya' have time left over, ya' can buzz over ta' the church-place if ya' want. Kenpachi'll like you I think. I'll write down the address."

"Kenpachi?"

"My neice's… well… he's not her _dad_, but he takes care a' her. He's tha' one who taught me ta' swordfight. Anyway, He's only taking her to get baptized because the church has this program for the needy – and she an' Kenpachi _are_ needy - but they'll only help you if you're a church member, or something. But anyway, it should be funny, so you should stop by. You can leave yer' cat here, I don't mind if she scratches shit up, since I'm remodeling anyway."

"Alright. Sounds good, you can have the shower then," Yumichika said mournfully, looking in the mirror, trying to fix his hair with an exasperated sigh. "You know, if I'd had it my way, we would've known each other a lot longer before all of this kind of stuff. No seeing the other's house or family for a long time, and _definitely_ not seeing each other first thing in the morning, my goodness, what would my parents say?"

"You said that already. We're not _complete_ strangers. We got all the same friends,"

Yumichika smiled as Ikkaku absently took off his shirt and grabbed his toothbrush, intending to brush his teeth while in the shower to save time. "I've known Renji even longer than Ichigo has. We were next-door neighbors, and we went to high school together."

"No, you couldn't have," Ikkaku said, just as convinced as Yumichika was that he _had_. "You couldn't have, cause _I_ went ta' high school with them."

"What?" Yumichika turned around and looked at him, "Are you telling me that we somehow missed each other for four years of high school, and three years of college, with six mutual friends?"

"Hey, I always been lucky. Just isn't always good luck. Still that's a fucking crazy string of coincidences. But you didn't live next door to him,"

"Yes, I _did._ I lived next to the orphanage. He and Rukia were both there,"

"Oh, I see." Ikkaku started taking his pajama pants off, forgetting what he was doing, until Yumichika beat him with a towel.

"You could at _least_ tell me to leave, you, you-"

"Hey, I didn't think you were gonna' look-"

"Oh, fine excuse,"

"Ah hush, you prissy vain-ass-"

"_That's _hitting below the belt! _You _eat like a barbarian on the brink of starvation that had both of his hands cut off!"

Ikkaku, at that point, just grabbed him and noogied him on the head, playing like he was going to drag him under the stream of water going in the shower. "Heh- Where've you been, you perfect piece of shit."

"Ditto, you uncultured lout,"

Ikkaku held him by the forearms, "If I asked if I could kiss you, what would you say?"

Yumichika looked back at him with a suddenly shocked expression, stunned by the quick change of subject. Then he looked back at him for a couple seconds, before smiling, "I'd say to brush your teeth."

"Ah, alright, alright," Ikkaku waved him off, grinning, "Ya' better get out of here before you go blind from seein' my ass,"

"I didn't go blind from seeing the sun on your head,"

"OH, YOU ARE GONNA' GET IT,"

Yumichika just laughed and raced out of the bathroom before Ikkaku could grab him. What was this feeling – This free happiness, without even a _hint_ of something dark underneath, nothing lurking, waiting to come ruin everything. He could _trust, _because he was finally getting the hard, cold, beautiful truth_._

He didn't even care that he hadn't combed his hair or used mouthwash. He didn't care that he didn't have any concealer or razors or _soap_; he felt really beautiful all of a sudden, like he could go to the store as is, completely care-free. He didn't have to impress Kaa anymore, or constantly reach for his approval.

Everything was out where it could be plainly seen.

This just felt so good. It felt like freedom.


	12. Chapter 12

AN - 6/5/14

I'm sorry if I come across as kind of sporadic - posting a ton of chapters really quick, and then not updating for a long time - it's just I have wild mood swings when it comes to this pairing, ranging from 'OH MY GOD DO EVERYTHING TO MAKE IT BIGGER, WRITE DRAW ROLEPLAY', to 'uggggh nobody likes this pair, I am all alone, this is pointless, don't even bother'.

Lol, I really hope you guys enjoy this, even if only a couple other people are reading it - I reread it to fill the yumi-ikka voice in my soul. So instead of posting super often like before, I'm going to make the chapters longer, I hope that's a fair trade for everyone. They're like twice as long now -this one and that last chapter.

Also: I don't think I've ever explained this before - but when I do AU's, if I don't explicitly state that they're in Japan, they aren't. (I would write them there if I could, but they say to write what you know, and I live in America. Although I'm learning the language and culture pretty well, I haven't actually _been_ to Japan. I hope you understand.)

So just assume that they all were either born in Japan, have Japanese parents, or are exchange students or something.

Also - I want their vacation to be to Cedar Point, because I'm going there this summer, but I don't know when. So it might be awhile to wait before I write about their trip, because I want to, again, write what I know. Hopefully we'll be going at the start of summer vacation instead of the end V.V

One last thing, I hope you guys will be understanding - I haven't gotten god at writing Renji and Ichigo yet, so they might be a little OOC. Just keep in mind, that they're both humans in this AU, and that they don't have to go through the stress or the military-numbness that soldiers do.

* * *

. . .

"_Look_ at it, this is what'cha' paid ta' find out,"

"No, no, no, I don't believe it," Renji moaned, head in his hands, crumpling to the floor. He could feel people shaking his shoulders and trying to pull him up, but he just flopped over, forehead touching the carpet, punching the ground in despair, unable to close his eyes to those horrible pictures. "No, It's not true," he cried, hiccupping, hands fumbling over the full-color prints of Ichigo and that... that- No, it couldn't _be. _Ichigo couldn't have done this, he couldn't have done this to him.

"C'mon, you'll find someone else,"

"Here, take this," The guys were trying to make him take a shot glass, handing him tissues and headache pills – playboy magazines, cigarettes, money. None of it made him feel better.

"I don't believe it," Renji said again, blubbering through his fingers, hands shaking as he flicked through the pictures, faster and faster, "No, not Ichigo, no, this is impossible, I don't believe it," he began to get more hysterical, voice spiraling higher, "-it can't be, _it just can't be, Ichigo's my boyfriend, it's impossible,"_ he bawled, choking on his own cries, seeing Ichigo with that other man, pictures taken at such high speed that as he flipped through them, he could see the guy's thrusts and Ichigo's moans. No, how could this be, Ichigo couldn't have done this, why, why, why, what had he done wrong?

"Here, drink the drink." Renji didn't look up, but took the shot glass, moaning and sniffling to himself.

"Someone musta' made im' do it," he said miserably, knocking back the shot, coughing and choking when the fumes hit him. That had been _really_ strong. Immediately, warmth spread through his gut, and he felt a little light-headed from crying. He had to go find Ichigo, he had to go beg him to come back; Ichigo couldn't leave him for that man, whoever he was.

"Don't keep in denial, ya' seen it with yer' own eyes, man. Ya'll find someone new. A good lookin' guy like you? The girls'll be breakin' yer' door down."

His eyes snapped open, and his head snapped up, "Girls? What girls?!" Renji staggered to his feet, pictures in hand, grabbing the guy's collar, getting in his face, "Ichigo's the only one for me, you'll see, I'm sure we can get past this! I just gotta' know why and then I can fix it!_ I can fix it!_"

Renji clutched the incriminating photographs, intending to chuck them into the nearest river. He pushed past the faceless people, out into the hallway, shoulders shuddering as he covered his eyes, "Oh, Ichigo, please tell me it's not true," he cried to himself, locking himself in the bathroom, tearing up and flushing the pictures down one by one. "Why, how could you do this, why would you do this to me? What have I done so wrong to drive you to this,"

He started to hear moaning, so he wiped his face, and opened the stall, peeking around it towards the sinks. Ichigo was there on his hands and knees, moaning with that guy doing something to him that he really shoudn't be doing, and _ouch, Renji's heart-_

"GAH!" Renji awoke in a clammy sweat, face wet with tears and snot, chest heaving. After a few disillusioned seconds of shuddery weeping and gasping, he began to calm down, hearing Ichigo somewhere out in the front room.

There was music playing softly from the radio on the nightstand, and Renji rolled over, putting his face in his hands, pressing his hips down into the mattress. He felt sick, getting hard over seeing Ichigo with some faceless dream homewrecker, even if it wasn't something he could control.

He gave a dry sob, sniffling, snaking his hand down into his boxers to squeeze the hell out of his crotch, trying to kill his erection.

'_I want to lay my head down... come closer, come closer-'_

Renji's face screwed up, and he bit his lips. They'd made love to this song before, _fuck. _He'd never felt such intense heart-pain before. Where was Ichigo? It had only been a dream, so he couldn't really be gone. He must be here somewhere.

'_Why didn't you stay a while... To say goodbye, my friend... I want to lay my head down, come closer-'_

Renji grit his teeth against the pain of his tight grip, but didn't lessen it even a mite - Oh yes, Ichigo had told him to take a nap for a little while before getting back to studying. He'd kissed his cheek, which he seldom did, and tucked him in kindly, which he did even more seldom.

Renji eased back against the mattress, cheek flush against it as he wiped his face with his wrist, sniveling miserably. That dream had really shaken him up.

He needed to toughen up – He couldn't fall to pieces if something of the sort really _did_ happen. He couldn't become a wreck, he needed to deal with this, even if he didn't want to.

But how could he? He'd have _nothing_. That was a really scary thing to think about.

No more long nights of laughing and wrestling during sex, no more epic board-games, no more shouting and fighting over the wheel when they didn't know the directions - no more kissing or linking their pinkies together under tables in public. No more comforting shoulder punches, no more playful insults, no more bickering, and no more both of them pretending not to be scared when they watched horror movies.

No more _us_, no more _ours_. It would just be Renji, alone, pathetic, like a dog, like a _stray dog.__  
_

His lip quivered a little, and he rolled over sharply with a growl, whacking himself in the gut a couple times to make himself stop with his pathetic crying. He tried to make himself feel better by the fact that he couldn't control if he started to cry in his sleep; he wasn't _really_ a wimp, he was just worked up. _'It's just a dream, Damnit! It's not fucking real!'_

_'Come closer, Trying not to remember, our most precious of times, remem-'_

But there was still that ominous 'what if'. Yes, _what if?_ Because if it _can_ go wrong, it _will, _and he needed to think of some plan, if not for getting Ichigo back, for how to survive without putting himself out of his misery.

How would it be like? Where would he live, what would he do all day? Who would fill that space that was always taken up next to him? Walking down the street, in movie theaters, the shotgun of his car, the other half of his bed, the other half of his heart. That place was specially made for Ichigo, and if it was left empty, he'd be crippled every place in his life.

'_Please tell me, do I leave... a void of any kind-'_

"My God, _shut up!" _Renji slammed his hand down on the radio, grabbing the cord and ripping it out of the wall.

He'd have to sleep in an empty bed, he'd have to listen to every song that had some special meaning to them all by himself. All of his friends were Ichigo's friends too, which meant that even if Ichigo wasn't physically present, he probably would be mentioned often – he'd have nowhere to go to forget about his problems, he'd have nothing that wouldn't remind him of what he'd lost.

Oh, he'd been so stupid in high school, so young and lonely and dumb, and_ scared,_ too chicken and shy for far too long. He'd taken such a long time to open up to the boy he was so head over heels for. How he'd wanted to hold Ichigo's hand and take him to parties, and do dorky stuff to make him blush, like picking him a flower even if he'd get yelled at for something so stupid and sappy.

But he'd let the opportunities pass by, for far too long. He'd taken a long time to gather his courage, months and months that he'd taken for granted, thinking that he'd always have more time, another chance to ask. He'd spent it looking hopefully to the future, rather than carpe-ing the fuck out of the diem, and asking Ichigo right then.

All that time he'd _wasted_. He should've spent every minute treasuring that time he got – he hadn't realized at the time that all of this, the friendship and the bond they had between them, could disappear at any moment, and that all he was doing was renting some time out of Ichigo's life, that it wasn't permanent, or even semi-permanent. Ichigo was one person in a world of billions. Their chances were minimal, and Renji didn't appreciate the magnitude of that at the time.

But he knew now, how their relationship could turn to sand in his fingers, and nothing he could do could keep it from slipping away from him, through the cracks.

He worked two jobs while Ichigo worked one, he filled out every scholarship and financial aid form that he could for their student loans, he did everything he could to get this degree so he could really take care of Ichigo if he had to - no longer would he be the poor nobody street urchin. He'd finally have some money, some stability, maybe even a home for Ichigo.

But Ichigo didn't _need_ that. Ichigo had a family, Ichigo had friends, and he was becoming a doctor. What Renji had to offer, wasn't enough, and the only thing he really could give was himself, and himself was ruining things half the time.

So all he had now, was precious, precious time. Sand running through a timer, and he didn't know when it would run dry and empty. So he would try, oh how he would try to be better, because this was his only hope, Ichigo was the light in the distance, and he couldn't let it start to flicker in the cold wind.

He'd thought that he'd learned his lesson long ago when they were getting over the 'college bump' that young relationships go through, but here he was _again,_ realizing how much time he'd taken for granted, let slip without enjoying, and it made him sick.

This _thing_ that they were getting ready to do, that he'd put off for such a long time: going to the clinic. When he'd been younger, he'd never wanted to go and check his status, because he'd sworn he'd never be with anybody in the first place; he thought he'd never love that deeply, or want to risk poisoning his sweetheart.

But he'd met Ichigo, and things changed. He'd wanted so bad to be close to him, to love him each and every intimate way, so he did, still in denial over what he possibly could be carrying, and that maybe he'd _never_ be able to love Ichigo all the way, and give him his possibly tainted body without a rubber. But he'd still had that mindset of always having another chance, another time to do it, another time they'd go to bed.

That luxury was something he couldn't afford anymore. He couldn't keep telling himself that he'd have time, because he really might not.

He should've gone to the clinic _years_ ago, but he was too terrified and in denial of what had happened to him as a child to just face it. Things that shouldn't have gone on, _had_ back at the orphanage, and he was sickened just thinking that he might have some disease because of those sick pedophiles.

But he'd let his pride and his ego, and his selfish fears get in the way of everything – he was finally realizing that if he didn't do it now, he might never get a chance to really make love with his everything. Because his everything could turn to nothing in a split second.

This wasn't some stupid diet where he'd still have his body if he put it off until next week. If he put this off, Ichigo really might disappear before he knew, and then he would've missed out.

He'd never get a chance to fix things, he'd never get to see that special smile that Ichigo never showed to anyone else. He'd lose all the memories and good times they'd had, he'd ruin all the future years he was always dreaming of in the blink of an eye, and all those things he'd taken for granted would be things of the past, only delusions and day dreams.

He didn't have the option of cold-turkey, either, which might make the pain hurt less - it would not be a clean cut, because Ichigo had all the same friends as he did, so he wouldn't even have the mercy of not having to see Ichigo with someone new, or constantly hear about him from the others. It would be a serrated knife doused in lemon juice, shredding his flesh on the way out of his spine.

Losing Ichigo would be bad enough; His heart would probably never recover that. He would _die_ if he saw Ichigo with someone else.

Renji peeled himself off of the pillow he'd been shamefully weeping into. What a pitiful, pathetic mess he'd turned into. He knew that it was mostly just because he was sleep-deprived and stressed out from finals week, but he still was a little embarrassed, even though there weren't any witnesses.

He had to admit, that after that outburst of tense thoughts and pitiful, shuddery weeping, he felt a lot better, less devoid of emotion. He'd been keeping everything under covers for far too long, and he hated it. It boiled under his skin until it became too much to bear, and now finally the stress and fear was leaking out. He really did feel a lot better after that.

He crept to the bathroom to wash his face and blow his nose before Ichigo could come and catch him looking so fucked up. He couldn't let him know, couldn't let him see, couldn't let him worry, or worse _annoy_ him. Ichigo hated it when he got all paranoid and doubtful, and Renji didn't want to cause him any more upset.

They seldom fought... Well, they seldom _really_ fought, where Ichigo would shout so much that he'd go blue in the face - The shouting wasn't the bad part; that was normal between them, resulting from Ichigo's unnatural amounts of pessimism and stress, and Renji's equally hot temper.

The really serious fights were when Ichigo would get furious enough to start crying angry tears as he shouted, and leave, slamming the door without a goodbye. Renji would stay up all night, waiting for him to come home, but in vain. It had only happened twice over all those years, and would end with Ichigo coming home and sleeping on the kitchen floor, giving Renji the silent treatment throughout the next day.

Renji couldn't let something like that happen. He knew that the pressure on Ichigo - who always seemed to be carrying the weight of the world - was beginning to become too much to handle, and that he would explode if he wasn't careful.

Renji sighed, rubbing at his face - this was driving him nuts, so nuts that he would start to forget what he was doing when he was studying or when he worked, which was not really safe when you're a limo-driver/exterminator.

Ichigo was going a little nutsy too, from night school and worrying about bills not getting paid, their car being in the shop, Yumichika getting stalked, and organizing their vacation. The poor thing was starting to have delusions and nightmares about some clone of himself who told him to do bad things.

Like some horror movie rip-off. Maybe they both needed a psychiatrist. Too bad they were both too stubborn - and too broke to afford one.

Renji scrubbed his face with a cold washcloth, taking special care to get rid of the red rings under his raw eyes. He put a loose braid in his hair and rubbed some water on his arms and the back of his neck to cool down.

After a heavy sigh, he flopped down onto the bathmat, face pressed to the cool tile, not caring about germs because Ichigo wasn't there to yell at him about them.

He smiled a little, getting choked up again as he thought back to how good he'd had it in high school. Those were the days. Floating on air, walking around with a dorky smile, so insanely in love that he didn't even _care_ if Ichigo would never be his, the kind of love where you just enjoy being near them even if they could never be yours.

The memories were things that hurt, but in a sweet kind of way, like how when you looked at old pictures of good times.

He remembered when Ichigo had accidentally hit him in the face with a book in the science lab on the day they were doing blood typing. Of course, he'd broken his nose before at the orphanage, so he knew what to do. He'd casually snapped it back into place to Ichigo's horror, and then blood started gushing everywhere, causing Ichigo to freak out and apologize, and drag him to the nurse.

Then there were days when they'd ride home together on the train with Yumichika, parting at the station, Ichigo one way, the two of them, the other. It had taken months for Ichigo to realize that Renji didn't have a home - when he'd asked if he could come over to study, Renji had to explain that he had no family, and lived in an orphanage. That had prompted Ichigo to invite him over nearly every day, giving him the family he lacked, understanding how it was with no mother.

Those were the days; the days when they would kick the asses of anyone who picked fights with them, the days when they'd argue for hours until the teacher threw chalk at them and told them to get out - they'd just leave school, laughing over their stupid bickering. So young, with so much time ahead of them, so many dreams.

Renji smiled a little, one particular time standing out. He'd just gotten his license and being a little older, had offered to drive Ichigo to a dentist appointment. Little had he known that Ichigo had to get his wisdom teeth out, and had been high as hell on the car ride back. '_You're kinda cute,' _he'd said woozily, trying to hug Renji while he drove, ending up choking himself with his seat belt.

'_You're hammered, don't say weird shit like that to me,' _he'd replied. Ichigo had then let it slip in his questionable state of mind, that he liked him, but not to tell Renji because it was a secret.

'_I always pick fights so he won't know. __He'll totally never talk to me again if he figures out that I like him. He'll call me faggot and hit me, probably,' _Ichigo had said sleepily, cotton in his mouth, looking like a dork._ 'I don't feel like I'm gay, but I just really like 'im. Don't tell,' _he said again in paranoia, before conking out, hitting his head on the dashboard.

Even with that green light, Renji had been too chicken to ask him out for quite some time, still thinking that maybe Ichigo had just been in a strange frame of mind, not knowing what he was saying.

His life had never been better. Fucking carrot-head, shouting, hard-punching, sarcastic angel. Suddenly, he had a life goal, dreams for the future, a _family_, somebody who believed in him. He became so much more than the stray dog that he'd been made to be.

Why would God give him an angel, and take it away? It seemed so senselessly cruel. It wasn't fair that so much of his life depended on this one person.

Who had stayed up with him when he'd had stomach flu, even before they'd gotten together? Who had taught him calligraphy with Yumichika so he could impress Rukia's new brother? Who had shown him that he was good enough to go to college and escape his impoverished life? Who had _loved_ him?

Renji sighed, letting the tightness of his throat overtake him, heart aching horribly. He gave up on being hard-shelled, and just let the pain thrive, knowing that it would go away soon if he just let himself feel it for awhile. Being strong wasn't about not crying; he was strong if he could deal with all of this.

Then came a knock on the door. "Renji? Are you okay? You ready to go?"

"Just one minute," he answered in a raspy voice.

He could see the shadow under the crack of the door, where Ichigo's feet were. He shifted his weight, remaining quiet for a moment, before answering, "Are you throwing up?"

"No,"

"Wait... Are you crying? You're _crying_, aren't you,"

"_No," _he answered too quickly, half-sitting up to try and keep the door shut with his foot.

Ichigo opened the door, peering around it, "What's the matter, Red?" Renji flopped back down. He came and sat near Renji, but not too near, putting a hand on his leg. Renji nearly lost it again. He looked _so_ beautiful. As much as he loved that endearing scowl, Ichigo looked so much younger when he didn't have those crinkles between his eyebrows; a soft face.

"Can ya' just lay here with me for a while," he begged in a whisper, not wanting Ichigo to hear his voice crack. He sighed and staring at the ceiling, wallowing in misery. Ichigo stared at him for a moment, before complying wordlessly, settling on his back, resting the back of his head on Renji's arm.

Ichigo didn't say anything to him, just sending him silent comfort by rubbing on his stomach a little, taking his hand. Renji sighed, finally getting a handle on his emotions, holding Ichigo closer. He loved the warmth and closeness, how he could see the pores on Ichigo's face, and each eyelash, those big brown eyes.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Ichigo finally asked, quietly, "We don't have to go if you're not,"

A wave of relief washed over him. Ichigo thought he was upset over _that._ He'd managed to come out clean once again,"No, I have to. I've made you wait too long."

"This isn't about me," Ichigo said sharply, getting up and looking him in the eyes, pulling on his hair a little bit. "This is about _you_ and what happened to _you_. I don't want you to do this so we can have normal sex, I want this because I don't want to see you go through your life in fear and denial." His strong tone faltered a little, "You torture yourself with this, and you don't deserve it, because none of it was your fault, don't you know that?"

Renji didn't speak, looking back at him, corners of his mouth tight. Ichigo grabbed his shoulders, "You were a _kid!" _he shouted, eyes angry and pained, "You were just a _kid_, don't you see? You'd better stop blaming yourself... or I'll... I'll knock your teeth in!" Renji just half-smiled at his boyfriend's guilt and insult-ridden attempt at helping - it had worked a little - Ichigo groaned, shoving him when he thought Renji was still being self-deprecating.

"I'm just scared," Renji admitted, not meeting Ichigo's eyes. After a few shameful seconds, Ichigo grabbed his hand and squeezed it, bringing it to his forehead.

"You fucking idiot. I can't buy you a toy airplane like some kid, what am I supposed ta' do?"

Renji was silent, watching Ichigo's face contort, gripping his fingers tightly, "I'm here," he said, sounding angry, but Renji knew it was just because he didn't want to start falling apart. Insults and anger often corresponded with what Ichigo considered inappropriate emotions - such as, when they had been younger, and Renji would do something sweet, Ichigo would cuss him out, all the while blushing, secretly liking it. Likewise, was it when Ichigo was trying to be caring towards him, masking his guilt with anger and swearwords.

"Don't," Renji said, suddenly not wanting what he had always considered a cute trait in Ichigo - he wanted what was _real._ He didn't want to be entrenched in this denial right now.

"What," Ichigo said without looking at him, still holding his hand to his forehead. Renji grabbed him by the collar, sitting up and dragging Ichigo towards him, like he was a thug he was about to punch.

"Don't go under your shell, you hide from everyone, but don't hide from me," he growled, nabbing his jaw and forcing him to look at him, "I want it all, you hear me?"

"All of what? What do you want," Ichigo said wearily, grimacing, not attempting to escape Renji's challenge. "You want reassurance, is that it? Are a bunch of B.S. words from me really gonna' help you feel better?"

Renji released him, sighing, "I… I just don't know what to do. What if I got somethin', and I can never… What if I can't…" He put his head in his hands.

Ichigo put a hand on his shoulder, looking a little choked up himself - because when Ichigo got choked up, he looked ready to commit a complex murder with only a rusty crowbar, some wooden planks, and a mongoose. That's why the worst fights were when Ichigo cried; Ichigo had to get fucking furious before he let loose.

"Renji."

He was met with silence and stillness, but he took that to mean that he was listening. The soft tone of Ichigo's voice really surprised Renji; Ichigo always did that when he wanted him to listen. It was more effective than shouting. Maybe Ichigo really was gonna' try to make him feel better with some words; he sounded like he was making an effort to be compassionate, which was what Renji needed at the moment.

"Have you ever heard of kintsukuroi?"

Renji wracked his mind. He was Japanese, just like all his friends, but had been orphaned and grew up in America, so his heritage was a little tainted - it was alright, his friends' all were too.

"It has to do with gold," he settled.

Ichigo took Renji's hands away from his face, and gently took his head, pressing it to his chest like some child needing comfort. He knew it was exactly what comforted Renji the most - the closeness, and the warmth and the heartbeat, the tight embrace and the stroking to his face and hair.

Renji sighed a little, sinking into Ichigo's skinny chest. "Imagine a broken piece of pottery. A really old one like anthropologists dig up and display in museums, with the Egyptian pictures on the side. A clay one, like you spin on a pottery wheel." Renji thought of a clay vase, sepia colored, with dark brown painted details, shattering on the pavement into big chunky pieces. "You imagining it?" He nodded against Ichigo's chest, braided hair skewing all over.

"Instead of throwing it away, kintsukuroi is when you fix the vase, but not with glue."

"With gold?" Renji questioned. Ichigo nodded, not looking down at him, rubbing the top of his head.

"They use gold or silver lacquer, and repair the pieces. It gets all put together like before, but the cracks glow with gold. The idea is that the piece is more beautiful now because it was broken. Kinda' like you," Ichigo forced himself to say it without any harshness or insults.

Renji's heart dropped, really letting that hit him full speed. He squeezed Ichigo really tightly, pressing his face into his chest as Ichigo stroked his hair. "I know you think that I'm disgusted by what happened... but that's not it at all... Part of what I like about you is how strong you are, bearing through so much. The cracks are golden, okay? You don't have to worry about what I'll think of you, even if you _do_ got somethin'. It's not like you asked to get an infection, you were a _child._"

"What if it's something that can't be cured?" Renji asked with trepidation, not sure that he wanted the answer to that. If he had HIV or something, then he and Ichigo would never be able to have a life together.

"Then we'll both have AIDS together," Ichigo whispered, "And we'll shine like treasure."

"That's so sappy," Renji said in an awed voice, looking up at Ichigo with his mouth agape, heart squeezing with the same happiness he'd had so long ago. Ichigo harrumphed, turning a little red. "I love you,"

"I know," Ichigo grunted, "You act so stupid when you're scared." Then Ichigo looked down and kissed his forehead roughly, to keep his manliness intact. "It's like you say, we'll make it, you stupid fuck." Renji took his hand and stood up. "Now let's go. You're strong, brave, and handsome. Mostly handsome."

"Well, geez. Now I feel perfectly confident," Renji grimaced sarcastically, pulling on Ichigo's ear, and then slinging an arm around his shoulder.

He wasn't taking a single second for granted anymore. He couldn't stay under the veil of denial; Ichigo's time was precious, and might be revoked at any time. As long as he had it, he was going to cherish it.

Like treasure.

* * *

"Hey Yumichika?"

Yumichika looked up from his laptop, "Yes?" he answered the muffled voice coming from the shower.

"I'm in a rush, can ya' get my clothes? A dress shirt, and some black pants, and a black tie,"

"Alright," Yumichika said with an amused smile. Ikkaku had been in such a rush that he had forgotten to grab some clothes to change into. At least he had realized before he'd gotten out.

"Thanks so much, babe,"

He got up, leaving his laptop open, creeping into Ikkaku's room, going to the closet. After a quick scan, he realized that there were only unopened boxes here too, along with linens, his sword case and empty hangers. Giving up, he went to the dresser, opening the top drawer.

Promptly, his face heated, and he slammed the drawer shut. _All_ of Ikkaku's underwear were red. After a moment of indecision, he slowly opened it again to observe the magazine he'd seen, surely it was dirty- did he want to know? _Yes_, he did, even if snooping was wrong._  
_

Yumichika took out the rolled-up catalog, even though he felt uneasy about invading Ikkaku's privacy. On the cover were some different steel weapons and pieces of art. A quick flip-through told him that the magazine was on metal-ware and other things for an 'international gifts' store. He opened it to a page that was dog-eared, and saw a sword sheath and other metal-care items that were circled many times in pen. Pretty expensive, shiny things.

Hey, at least it wasn't what he'd thought it would be. Yumichika wondered why Ikkaku would roll it up and hide it if it wasn't something dirty.

Yumichika picked out a pair of Ikkaku's underpants, assuming that Ikkaku had been too embarrassed to ask him to grab some.

Opening the next drawer with more caution, he pulled out a badly folded white button-down, and a pair of black dress pants, folding up the red boxers and sliding them inside the pants. The tie was harder to find, but he eventually found one in the closet, in one of the boxes.

"I have the clothes, Ikkaku," he called through the bathroom door.

"Okay, just set them on the sink,"

Yumichika pursed his lips, before cracking the door open and keeping his eyes on the floor as he set the clothes on top of a folded towel. He didn't know what was wrong with him, it wasn't like there wasn't a shower curtain. It just felt strange.

"I'm going to go pretty soon, okay? So I can make it in time."

"Oh okay, don't rush though, it's okay if you don't come."

Yumichika smiled, "Alright," he closed the door, and went back to his laptop, typing away at the chat bar as he put some socks on, and got ready to go. After he fed Haruki, he got a jacket, shouted a goodbye to Ikkaku, and trotted down the multiple staircases to get his car.

He briefly looked over Ikkaku's motorcycle, getting close to it to observe the polished metal and the helmet with the red stripe on the side. It might be fun to ride behind Ikkaku, and hug his back really tight, but it wouldn't be fun to be afraid of dying. He sighed, getting into his car, pulling out with a wave to the guy at the toll-booth.

He turned the radio to the cheeriest station he could find and started singing, dancing a little in his seat every time he hit a stop-light. He even threw a few mints and some change out the window at a couple homeless kids who were smiling at his weird display of happiness.

After a few minutes of driving in circles around the supermarket where he worked, he decided to go to the big one that was farther away. It felt weird to shop where he worked - he spent enough time in that place, thank you very much.

He texted Ikkaku a couple times, asking if he liked watermelon, because he was going to buy one - when he didn't receive an answer, he assumed it was because he was driving that death-bike, which was for the best. If he ever texted while on that thing, Yumichika would wring his stupid neck. C'mon, Ikkaku, phones are expensive, and so is your spine if you break it.

Yumichika hummed as he picked out a melon, hefting it into his cart. He assumed that Ikkaku wasn't a very picky eater, what with the way he scarfed down food like a starving man, so he didn't bother asking what Ikkaku liked - he probably liked basically everything.

He got some orange juice and a jar of pickles, and a box of cereal, which Ikkaku had none of. After that, he looked through the small stationary aisles and picked out a couple of crafts to pass the time at Ikkaku's house. Finally, he made his way to the cosmetics, getting a jar of vitamins, a comb and a deodorant stick. He started milling around then, testing a couple products on his wrist just for fun.

He eyed himself in the tiny mirrors on the shelves - wine-colored t-shirt, and jeans. He wondered if that was nice enough for Ikkaku's neice's baptism; after all, Ikkaku had dressed up for it, and he didn't seem like the type to do that often.

"Uhm... Hey," came a voice from behind him. Yumichika blinked, before rolling his eyes, not turning around.

"Why do you keep following me, Kaa," he said more than asked, with a very flat tone.

"Hey, it's probably an accident," Kaa mumbled, keeping his distance. "I just wanted ta'-_ woah_,"

Yumichika didn't turn to look at him, still rubbing the concealer sample on his wrist. Too dark. He shrugged, testing another.

"You look... really pretty, did you change your hair?" Kaa asked quietly, "Wait, did something happen to you?" He swooped in closer to scrutinize his face, "Did you get chased? How come you're not wearing makeup?"

Yumichika looked up at him finally, doing a double take. Kaa was a _mess. _His hair was hanging in his eyes, and there were big purple circles on his face, coloring lack of sleep. His cheeks were sunken in and his skin looked yellowed. "You're not looking so great yourself, what the hell happened to _you?_ You look like you slept on a park bench."

Kaa blinked, pursing his lips. Yumichika sighed, shaking his head. "What do you want, I told you it was over,"

"C'mon, can't we talk about this?"

"What is there to talk about?"

"What's he got that I don't got," Kaa asked pitifully, looming over him. Yumichika glanced to his right discreetly, searching for an exit if need be. "I know what you're doin', you're tryin' ta' make me suffer, well it's workin', okay? What do ya' want, I'll buy ya' anything, pick a house, pick a _country_, damnit," Kaa took him by the shoulders, and Yumichika was surprised by the gentleness, just looking back at him silently as he continued ranting._  
_

"What is it that he's got, is it cause' he's asian too? We can move back to yer' country so you can be near yer' family. I'll learn Japanese, we'll be happy-"

"My family disowned me," Yumichika said flatly, sure that he'd mentioned that before.

Kaa blinked, mouth agape, before he barreled on, "I meant your sister, I know how you love her... I'll shave off my hair, is that it?"

"Don't make me sing 'I will survive' to you. You're not helping," Yumichika said miserably, turning away. He'd been trying not to think about Kaa - he'd wanted a clean break with Ikkaku, a fresh start, a new life, a new _chance, _but he still had these wretched feelings, these hangups; he couldn't deny that he loved Kaa despite everything; even though he knew he shouldn't, he loved Kaa, but that didn't mean that he didn't hate him too.

"How about helping me for a change, I'm not made of stone," Kaa really looked completely pathetic and lost, and it was tearing at Yumichika's insides. Kaa had never looked like this when he'd tried to leave before. Yumichika really felt bad for him, Oh, how he wished he could go back, how he wished things were different. "Do you know how long it's been since we've last made love? Since you let me kiss you-" Yumichika stopped him there, shoving him away, pointing in his face.

"That right there _proves_ to me that you care nothing for me, _or_ my safety. You don't know what kind of shit you've picked up from those people. If I have sex with you, I'll be having sex with who knows what hoodrat! You don't care about me, you don't care about how I feel, all you care about is yourself and your freedom, Kaa. It's like you're the only person who exists, like there's no room for anyone else but you in your world! You can't have your cake and eat it, you're not allowed to have me, but do whoever else you want, that's _not_ fair."

Kaa's face scrunched up, as if he was having a hard time accepting the consequences to his own actions. It always seemed to confuse him when he didn't have anyone to blame but himself, "C'mon, Yum-yum, don't do this to me, It's gotten to the point where I'm afraid ta' even touch you, you're so mad about the other people. When I asked, you said you were fine with having an open relationship - you know how hard it is for me to settle down, I just needed some time. Is it ever gonna' be the same again? I'm ready to just be for you, I promise, things can be okay again-"

Yumichika tried to say something, but Kaa stopped him, looking at him with pleading eyes, "No, listen, okay? I put my hand in the cookie jar, I had my fingers in the pie, I _admit_ it, but that's the past, and we can live with it, and deal with it,"

"Fine then," Yumichika snapped, scowling when he saw that other shoppers were beginning to peek at them and move away in a hurry, "Let's deal with it, but we're not talking about pies, Kaa. You can't just compare breaking my trust with putting your finger in a pie. You're trying to fix things the way you want to, but it doesn't work that way, and I'm having a hard time dealing with this, don't you get it?"

Kaa shook his head wildly, "No, no, Yumichika, no, I didn't do it to hurt you, I can fix this-"

"Maybe you don't get how serious fidelity is to me, is that it? Don't you understand how much I sacrificed? I stuck my neck out for you, and I let you gallivant around thinking it would make you happy and that you'd come back to me when you were done. But I know better now, because you weren't going to come back, no matter what you say. If I hadn't put my foot down, you never would've stopped."

"No, no, I can fix this, I promise, I can fix this-"

"Stop saying that, I'm sick of you saying that! You can't _fix_ this okay?! You can't fix _anything,_" Kaa looked completely devastated, absolutely stricken, and it was tearing Yumichika up, because he knew that Kaa wasn't faking. His voice got quiet and strained then, trying to make Kaa understand, "Don't you get it, I can't waste any more time waiting for you to regret your decisions. I'm not going to be _young_ forever, that's the one thing I'll never get back; Even if my heart heals, and everything else goes away, I'll never get back all this time I've wasted waiting for you. I could've spent those years being _happy, _instead of _waiting_ to be happy."

"Please, I'll do anything, one more chance,"

"I just can't waste any more time, Nick, I'm sorry," Yumichika said sadly.

"I can fix it, it was the others that upset you right? That's what upset ya' right?" Kaa grew desperate, clutching at him, "There was no meaning, there was no love, I didn't care, there was nothing, I swear. I can't even remember what they looked like, or their last names-"

"That makes it worse. Is that how cheap you consider sex to be?..." Yumichika shook his head, sighing, letting Kaa clasp his hands, "Every time you touch me... I can't help but feel that you're not having sex with me because you love me, but because..." He shook his head more, heart breaking, "You just want- Because you're just trying to get off-"

"No, no, that's not true..." Yumichika's face screwed up, and he sniffled, struggling to keep it in, and keep from making more of a scene. He hated being a spectacle to people, and he knew that Kaa hated it even more, and that he was getting really antsy. He was surprised that Kaa was saying all this in a semi-public area, what with how insanely against public displays he was. He must really be desperate to get him back.

"_No_, wait, please don't," Kaa shook his head wildly, backing off a little bit; He'd always had a horrible time when Yumichika cried. That was the one thing that would break Kaa, was Yumichika's tears. Over the phone, he'd been able to deal with it, but in person, he was crippled.

"No, stop," he held him, and Yumichika selfishly allowed it, trying desperately to suck the moisture back in. No more crying over this jerk. "Yumichika," he sighed, trying to gather himself, "You want the... sappy stuff, don't you? Like how... Well... I don't know, I just-"

"I know you have a hard time with me being a man, but how do you think I feel? The person I love can't even _look me in the eye_ when he's making love to me, and he can't bear to be near me afterwards. You won't admit anything to anyone, you won't even touch me or kiss me in private. You made me feel so ashamed for so long-"

"I'm sorry," Kaa blurted out, forcing the words past his tongue, and that's how Yumichika knew he was being honest. Kaa hated to say things like this out loud; it was taking serious balls for him to come here and say all this to him, "I... I _love_- Frick... I've hurt you terribly, I know. I'm _sorry..._ I will be patient, I'll be nice to you and stuff, I won't deny us in front of other people, I'll even kiss you in front of my friends... I'll even go celibate for you, we don't have to do it, and I won't see anyone else, c'mon... you know all the times we had... Things can be good... I... Yumichika, I love you," Kaa forced out awkwardly, stroking Yumichika's hair with hesitance. Yumichika's throat got tight - this was a really hard decision, and his heart was breaking, because he knew that he couldn't go back as much as he wanted to.

But what if Kaa had finally learned his lesson? Maybe... just maybe... maybe it wouldn't be that bad boyfriend cycle where he would leave and Kaa would come crawling after him and be super nice for a little while, just to get him back, and then go right back to his bad behavior... Maybe Kaa really would make a change for him, maybe it had all been a misunderstanding.

"I really do miss you when I'm away from you - nobody else is the same... That's how I know I must... love you," he sighed, holding Yumichika tight. "I'm really sorry for everything. I see that you're hurt, now... and that _I..._ hurt you. I can fix it," he whispered, struggling with the empathy that all this took.

Yumichika let his forehead roll onto Kaa's shoulder. How much he wanted to believe that they could have a life together; maybe they could've, if things had been fixed sooner, but it wasn't the same now.

"It's too late, Nicholas. It's just much too late," Yumichika pulled away, making the hardest choice of his life, knowing that this had changed the balance of his future. "Maybe someday things can work out... someday... we can keep in touch... I don't want you out of my life, but... If you care about me at all, could you please leave me alone for awhile?"

"Okay..." Kaa conceded, to Yumichika's surprise, "But can I kiss you one time? Just one time," he begged, which surprised Yumichika even more. Kaa didn't like to kiss him, and the fact that they were in public made it even more out of the ordinary. Yumichika supposed that it couldn't hurt if it would get Kaa to leave, so he nodded, and stood stock still as Kaa leaned in and held his face, kissing him with shaking lips.

Oh, it had been so long since he'd been kissed - not counting yesterday - and Yumichika couldn't help but kiss back just a little, some part of him breaking inside and falling down among the pieces of his heart.

"G'bye," Kaa whispered, giving a bitter half-smile, fingers lingering on his face, "Don't worry, I won't give up on ya'. I'll fix it somehow." And then he turned, looking completely miserable with his out of the ordinary messed up appearance, and wandered away, looking back a couple times.

Yumichika only wished that that would be the last time he'd have to see Kaa walking away from him.

* * *

Renji was going nuts. He'd bitten his nails down to the nub, and some of his fingers were bleeding a little. He couldn't keep still, and his leg was jittering as he sat in the chair next to Ichigo, who was on the little doctor's cushion-counter, paper crinkling under his legs.

Well that had been completely embarrassing - the awkward questions had been bad enough. He'd let Ichigo answer everything, because Ichigo was better at keeping a straight face about these things. But there was a physical exam, and samples had to be taken - and the doctor was male, and obviously had a little issue with the fact that they were together.

Completely mortifiying, but if everything came back fine, then it would all be worth it.

A female nurse came in, "I'm so sorry, but I'll be taking care of you two now." Ichigo's mouth tightened, along with his fists.

"Thank you, miss," he said flatly, completely fed up with that jerk doctor's little snide comments.

She took a deep calming breath, walking over to them, "Alright, you can both sit on the table, just relax, I'm not going to make you undergo an exam again, I'm just going to take your blood pressure again, and ask a few questions." She gave a little smile, biting her lips, "Sir, I hope you can relax, otherwise the numbers will be skewed."

Renji looked up at her, half-smiling, leaning his head back against the wall. "Okay, do him first then," Ichigo snaked his hand behind his back, curling his pinkie around one of Renji's fingers. Renji looked up at him, but Ichigo was staring stoically at the far wall while the nurse took his blood pressure, acting like nothing was up. Ichigo hadn't done that in a long time, almost since their high school days.

"Alright," she wrote down a couple numbers. "I'm going to ask you some questions as well. I know the doctor already asked these things, but he didn't write them down," she rolled her eyes, "He's always getting into law suits over stuff like this, I don't know _why_ he went into this field if he's not comfortable with these things."

"It's a guy thing," Renji said with a raspy voice, trying to calm himself down as she wrapped the band around his bicep with difficulty. It was almost too big for the velcro.

"And maybe a homophobe thing as well. But, really, I just want to tell you both not to mind me, we're completely confidential here. No need to worry." Renji nodded.

"Alrightie," she smiled, using her pen to mark which question she was on. "As you probably know, male homosexual sex poses the highest risk of infection and HIV in particular, so I'm going to have to ask a few extra questions. I'm going to go ahead and assume that the two of you are in a sexual relationship-"

Renji put his head in his hands, moaning lowly; he was _so_ sick of blushing. Ichigo shoved him, "We're almost done, just suck it up..." Ichigo started laughing lowly, "This is so stupid, it's kind of funny,"

"Good to know you're having a good time!" Renji shouted through his fingers.

"Excuse me," the nurse said while giggling, "We'll be quick, be sure to answer honestly, and remember, nothing you could say will shock me. Your samples are already in the lab, so if you test negative, you might receive your results before we're done."

"Okay, shoot," Renji said miserably, praying really hard.

"When was the last time you had intercourse,"

"Last night," Ichigo said flatly, without blinking. Renji sighed, pulling his knees up to his chest. At least the nurse had the kindness not to look at them when she asked the questions.

"Have either of you ever had unprotected sex with each other or anyone else, man or woman,"

"No,"

"Do either of you show symptoms of an STI?"

"No,"

"Why do you think you carry an infection?"

Ichigo was silent for a moment, before he looked at Renji, seeming uncomfortable with telling his boyfriend's secrets. The nurse didn't look up, and waited silently.

"Uh... I... when I was little, there were some... things that went on... that shouldn't have,"

"Alright, that's all you need to tell. But there are no symptoms to lead you to believe that there might be something?"

"No," Renji said with relief.

"That's a good sign," she commented, ticking away with her pencil, and the screen-pad of her ipad-clipboard. She asked them more about their medical history and their ages and heights.

"Hey, Renji," Ichigo said with a small frown on his face - not a scowl, a frown.

"Hm?"

"When's the last time we went dancing? Like to a nightclub?" Renji stroked his chin, thinking hard, pinkie still curled around Ichigo's.

"I think it was before Ikkaku, Hisagi and me got our tattoos... Damn, that's right when we graduated,"

"I don't think we've gone to the beach in a while either," Ichigo mused, "or camping."

"Well we don't go with your family anymore," Renji pointed out. "Wait, we used to have a date night too, what happened to that?" He began to get nostalgic; he missed those high school days a lot, everything had been easier.

"Hm... Reality happened," Ichigo said pessimistically, "But we've only got one more week until summer vacation, and then we're out of the badlands. Then things can go back to normal."

"Thought we weren't gonna' make it," Renji admitted. Ichigo punched him in the arm.

"Stupid! You're always the one who says that we'll make it, now how'm I supposed to believe it if _you_ don't even believe it?!"

"What, would you rather I say that we're about to catch spontaneous fire from stress?"

"I'd _rather_ you say nothing than _lie_," Ichigo said sarcastically. "Things have been hard lately, but we're at the top of the hill almost."

"I hope things aren't hard right_ now_," the nurse commented flatly with a straight face. Renji's head snapped up incredulously.

"Did you just-" he looked at Ichigo for a minute, before busting out laughing. "Oh my god, don't with the jokes, that was so bad - and it's not professional,"

"I know, but it breaks the tension. You have no idea how awkward things get having to tell people that their partner has caught something from scrounging the streets. Don't get me started on DNA tests."

"Aiiii, Ichigo, why'd you wanna' be a doctor again?" Renji asked with a grin. Ichigo rolled his eyes, smiling a little.

"I'm not gonna' be _that_ kind of doctor, you dork."

"Alright, that's all. We're all done," the nurse said, "Work is slow today, so if you guys want, you can just wait in here for your results. They might take as long as half-an-hour."

"That's okay, we'll wait," Renji said bravely, feeling a lot better after that break in tension. Ichigo didn't try to argue with him, so he took it to mean that it was okay.

"Alright, I'll just leave you two alone," she smiled and closed the door softly.

"This is it," Renji said, dread filling him again. He took both of Ichigo's hands, "This is really it," he repeated breathily.

"Calm down, you stupid fuck, I'm not gonna' leave you if you're positive for something," Ichigo snapped, not into sappy love confessions when they were in public, even if no one was around.

Renji wanted to believe that, he really wanted to believe that, but he knew that part of Ichigo didn't fully realize what that meant. If it literally happened, Ichigo might view things differently, and change his mind. He might thing that maybe he'd cheated on him and was trying to blame the disease on something else. Renji clutched at his fingers, biting his lip for a few minutes.

Ichigo closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, "But what if it's AIDS?"

"Guh!" Ichigo shouted, making his hands into claws to show his frustration, "_Shut up_, you don't have _AIDS_, Renji! You're being paranoid!"

"_No,_" Renji hollered back, getting steamed that Ichigo wasn't taking this seriously, or worse, he was trying to make a problem go away by denying it. He was being a hypocrite of course, because he couldn't even _think_ the word 'molested' or 'raped', because somehow that made it more real.

But things didn't _work_ that way; that dream he'd had had really fucked him up, and it was pissing him off that Ichigo was doing the denial thing too, "You have to take this seriously, you're just saying that to make yourself feel better! Saying I don't have it doesn't make the possibility go away, Ichigo! You _know_ I might have something, so shut your lying mouth!" He grumbled to himself for a little bit, crossing his arms and pouting in the corner, feeling miserable and misunderstood and _alone_.

What did Ichigo know anyways, _he_ didn't have an STD floating over his had. He didn't know what it was like. Stupid orange-juice-haired asshole.

After almost five minutes Ichigo's voice came quietly from behind him, "If you've got AIDS, you've had it for a long time, and that means that I've been in love with the AIDS-infected-Renji. You're not gonna' turn into a zombie in my eyes if someone tells you you've got it, cause if you've got it, you already had it. You don't suddenly have it once you're made aware of it. You're still the same person, whether we know your status or not, okay? Now give me a kiss, you sacka' hammers,"

"Don't steal my joke material," Renji grouched, not responding to Ichigo's hands pulling him around. He was a little less angry now; that had been really nice of Ichigo to say.

"You suck when you're scared," Ichigo whispered, nosing at Renji's face, trying to get him to turn his chin up for a kiss. Renji's jaw softened - Ichigo didn't do this stuff outside of their home, period. He really wanted to make him feel better, didn't he?

He gave a shaky sigh, frowning miserably, "I don't want things to change," he said brokenly, wrapping his big hands around Ichigo's wrists. How he wished things could to back to how good they'd been. Ichigo wouldn't have so many bones sticking out, and he'd have less frown lines, and Renji would be more hopeful for their future lives.

Ichigo's breath ghosted over his lips, and he let the small space between them linger for a while, knowing Renji enjoyed the suspense. He let Renji link his fingers between his, closing the gap, squirming over into his lap. After a few warm, slow kisses, Ichigo pulled back a few millimeters, looking at Renji's long eyelashes, black at the very roots, red at the tops, just like his hair.

"Hey," he whispered against Renji's mouth. Renji's eyes fluttered open, with a small humming noise. "Let's play hangman like we used to do in my dad's office."

Renji grinned, and hugged him really tight, "I can't believe you remember that, I thought only I remember stupid shit like that,"

"Hey, c'mon, I remember stuff too. I think about those days a lot." Renji smiled, putting his head on Ichigo's shoulder, letting him squirm further into his lap, trying to get comfortable. "Yeah, you used to put your feet up on his desk while I would talk to the customers, and you'd think I couldn't see," Ichigo said wistfully, a nostalgic glint in his eye.

"Aw, _what_? You knew? Why didn't you deck me like you said you were gonna'?"

"Cause' you looked hot doin' it," Ichigo kissed him a couple more times, smiling. "Still worried?"

"A little," Renji admitted, getting up and grabbing the chalk out of the little cupholder near the magazine-rack in the corner. "My turn first,"

Ichigo stared at him for a little while, "You're really scared, aren't you," Renji's shoulders sagged with a giant groan.

"Uggggh, I thought I was supposed to forget about it, Ichigo,"

"I just realized you forgot to wear a bandanna... Wow," Ichigo pursed his lips, "I actually feel kind of bad now. I didn't think you were _that_ worried."

"I must look really pathetic if you're feeling guilty."

"No, you look good," Ichigo said quietly, "It's nice," Then Ichigo's tone changed back, "Now think of a word,"

"Does it have to be english?"

"Hmmm... Yeah,"

"Alright, it'll be something you hate."

"Horoscopes,"

"Damn, I didn't even write it yet, how'd you do that?!"

Ichigo just grinned. The golden days could come back. Really soon, and then they'd be happy again, and the smiles would return. This was the good life.


	13. Chapter 13

AN - **Contains Smut** - I hope I'm getting good at lemons, you guys. Please leave a review, I _really_ appreciate each of them. You don't know how much motivation it gives me.

Also, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know whether I'm keeping these guys in character. Usually I only write Yumichika and Ikkaku, like I said, so writing these other characters is kind of out of my comfort zone. If you could let me know if I write them well/ whether I'm getting better at lemons, I'd really appreciate it!

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

Yumichika pulled up to the church building, which was correct according to the address Ikkaku had given him, along with the gps in his phone. When he saw Ikkaku's motorbike, he knew that he had indeed come to the right place, and parked next to it, locking his car and jogging to the building, hoping he hadn't missed everything.

He'd brought a camera and a little corsage and a chocolate egg for Ikkaku's niece, even if she very well might be a baby, unable to appreciate the itchy thing – he didn't know how old she was, so as far as he knew, she could be anywhere from zero to ten.

The camera, he'd brought because he didn't think Ikkaku had half a mind to bring such a thing, and a phone camera just didn't cut it. Furthermore, if he'd assumed correctly about the girl's caretaker from what he'd heard from Ikkaku, this Kenpachi probably didn't bring one either. What little girl didn't want any baby pictures?

As he cautiously entered, slipping into a pew in the very back of the nearly vacant church, he saw Ikkaku up on the altar with crossed arms next to a giant of a man and a little baby probably about one and a half, who was screeching at the top of her lungs, blubbering and wet.

Yumichika assumed that it was either after mass, or other people had just left because of the child's noisy tantrum. Yumichika smiled; he liked her a little already.

He quietly padded up the aisle to sit closer to the front, avoiding the couple other people who were in the building. Ikkaku grinned at him, ignoring Kenpachi who was desperately trying to keep a hold on the wriggling child. Yumichika noticed that she wasn't wearing the white clothes that were supposed to go with such an event, and that the priest had wrinkled his nose in distaste at her worn, yellow sundress as he struggled to put oil on the child's forehead, avoiding her flailing hands. Or perhaps he was just concerned about going deaf.

They lit a couple candles and signed a couple papers, and then it was over. Yachiru stopped crying almost immediately as Kenpachi set her on the ground. She crawled down the carpeted steps, and he just let out a 'pssh' and followed her.

Yumichika started laughing, seeing how harassed and exhausted the big tough guy looked. He covered his mouth with a hand, giggling behind it as the girl grabbed the edge of one pew, trying to stand. "_Hey_, Laughing boy!" Yumichika jolted, grimacing at him, but did not shrink back, which the man seemed to be surprised about.

"What," he snapped back in response to Kenpachi's attitude.

"These people don't like your types in this kinda' plac-" Ikkaku punched Kenpachi between the shoulders, swearing loudly even though they were in church..

"I said, _be nice!_" he shouted, voice echoing through the building. Yumichika hid a smile as he saw the priest roll his eyes and put out the candles around the room.

"Okay," Yumichika said, even if he wasn't the one Ikkaku was talking to. Ikkaku picked Yachiru up off the ground, looking around, not knowing where to put her. Kenpachi crossed his arms adamantly, stubbornly refusing to carry her anymore.

Eventually, as Yumichika stood up, ready to leave with them, Ikkaku thrust her into his arms, "Here, hold her, I gotta' go talk to the social worker."

Kenpachi raised his eyebrows, and Yumichika remembered Ikkaku saying something about Yachiru hating strangers. Yumichika at least knew how to hold a baby correctly, and she didn't immediately start screaming, which was a good sign.

"Why are _you_ talking to the social worker?" Yumichika asked, eyeing Kenpachi. If he was honest, the man didn't look quite fit to be looking after children.

"He'll just fuck things up, you don't know what I gotta' put up with from these two," Ikkaku said in exasperation, saying that he'd be back in a minute.

Yumichika sat back down, and the baby stared at him, nearly beginning to wail again. She stopped abruptly when Yumichika adjusted her in his lap and brought out the shiny, foil-covered chocolate egg. Her eyes went big and round, and she reached for it, expertly taking off the aluminum and sticking it in her mouth, chewing enthusiastically.

Yumichika gave a little laugh when she flopped tiredly onto the front of his shirt, damp head on his chest. All that screaming had to be exhausting. Kenpachi looked extremely impressed when Yachiru fell asleep almost instantly, finger in her mouth.

"Hello, Kenpachi-san, I'm Yumichika." Yumichika smiled sunnily, trying to make a good first impression, even though the insufferable man had insulted him deeply within the first twenty seconds of meeting him.

"Yer' Ikkaku's…." he trailed off, looking at Yachiru in irritation that she'd given him such trouble, but hadn't ripped off Yumichika's head, "Ya' don't know what I gotta' go through ta' get her ta' go ta' sleep…"

"Really?" Yumichika looked down at her again, standing up and adjusting her so her head rested on his shoulder. She coughed a couple times before settling down again. "Do you want her back?"

"Nah… you kin'…" Kenpachi trailed off, staring at him awkwardly. "Sorry... Fer' what I said." Yumichika just rolled his eyes with a smile.

"I've had much much worse, trust me," he said a little sadly, bouncing on the balls of his feet a little bit to rock her. "Here, take a picture of her, and we'll have captured lightning in a bottle."

Kenpachi looked at him for a minute, before actually laughing, taking the camera and fiddling with it until he figured out how to work it. After taking two pictures, Yumichika turned to see that Ikkaku was staring at him, gaping, pointing in disbelief.

"You-…. What the-... How-" he looked at Kenpachi, and they shared a significant stare for a few seconds before looking back at Yumichika.

"He stays," Kenpachi said heartily. "And I need an aspirin."

"She has got quite the pair of lungs," Yumichika agreed, picking up the little corsage and handing it to Kenpachi. "But she's cute, so we won't throw her to the wolves just yet." Kenpachi stared at his hand for a moment, before he took the little flower arrangement hesitantly. "Just give it to her when you get home,"

"Uh… thanks." Yumichika just smiled, holding out the baby to him. Kenpachi took her, holding her similarly. She awoke, but began sucking on her thumb, eyes sleepy. "Can we leave?" Zaraki asked Ikkaku, not eager to know what the social worker had said about him _this_ time.

"Yeah, let's go," Ikkaku looked between the two of them excitedly, pleased that Kenpachi had liked Yumichika. He was right: Yumichika was definitely a keeper.

* * *

Renji thought that he'd never been as scared as he was now. This was absolutely nerve-wracking.

After a couple rounds of hangman, the nurse finally came back in with an indiscernible look on her face. Renji didn't know if that was a good sign. She opened the file she was carrying, flicking her eyes up to each of them for a split second before launching into reading the report with a lot of doctor jargon that Renji didn't understand.

All Renji understood were their names and birthdays and a bunch of different diseases. He didn't hear the words 'positive' or 'negative', so he just squirmed anxiously, trying to listen even though his nerves were making him skittish and unfocused.

Ichigo smiled when she read Renji's name, so he sat there, hardly daring to breathe, promising God that he'd do him as many solids as he wanted if he could just pass this test. Ichigo started smiling wider and wider, nudging him, giving him a glance.

Renji didn't know what was so significant that he should be happy about, and thought Ichigo was just teasing him about his nerves. But then the nurse said 'congratulations', and Renji felt relief flood through him like a tidal wave, along with some disbelief.

"I passed? Did I pass?" he asked, sounding a bit hysterical even to his own ears. Ichigo grinned and gave him a rough kiss on the cheek right in front of the nurse, and Renji nearly fainted. He'd passed, everything was okay, everything could go back to normal. _He'd made it._

"Oh, thank god," he sighed, rubbing his eyes as he began to swoon. Ichigo held his arm to keep him from falling over.

"I _told_ you that you didn't have anything," Ichigo said, still smiling like the sun as he put on his coat and shook his deliriously happy boyfriend out of his stupor.

"I'm so happy for you both. Have a wonderful day," The nurse smiled, opening the door so that they could go. "And a wonderful _night_," she called after them. Renji started to laugh, still stunned and floating on air as Ichigo turned with a blush, giving her the evil eye.

Renji took Ichigo's hand, still shaking a little from all the adrenaline, taking in air like he'd been deprived for years. "Let's go eat," he suggested, and Ichigo nodded as they walked across the street, coming into a small restaurant.

Ichigo sat down across from him in a booth with nice green leather, letting Renji hold his hands even though there were some other people eyeing them in disgust or surprise. "Man, I'm so happy," Renji whispered, wiping his face, trying to calm down.

"I wouldn't have left you," Ichigo said lowly, not looking at him, "I wouldnta'… I know you think I would, but I wouldn't."

"Maybe not right away," Renji said a little sadly, leaning onto the table as the waiter came to serve them, eyeing them cautiously as if gay was an airborne contagion.

He was quiet for a few seconds, face heating as Renji and Ichigo just stared back at him, "…. Uh, what'll ya' have," he said not unkindly, settling as he rationalized that they weren't going to bite him.

Renji hadn't looked in the menu yet, so he jumped a little and opened it up, "Oh, let's see…. A cheeseburger, a chicken burger, an omelet... And water. Anythin' ta' add, koi?" he asked Ichigo, who was still eyeing the waiter with a scowl.

Ichigo startled at the pet name and glared at him even though the young waiter obviously didn't understand what had been said. "No… ah'…" Ichigo sighed, "Nothin'."

"Alright, I'll be right out with that," the guy mumbled, happy to get away.

Since neither of them liked having a conversation every single night about what they were going to have for dinner, they traded off every other night on who was responsible for getting dinner/making it, etc. Renji was more likely to order pizza or make something easy like macaroni or rice, while Ichigo would make something nice ahead of time before he left for night school.

Ichigo leaned his elbows on the table, hands on the sides of his face "You'll wanna' go all night, wontcha'," he asked miserably, startling Renji that he was talking about such things in public.

"Well… at least _part_ of the night... I thought we should celebrate me bein' clean," he answered cautiously, wondering if Ichigo just didn't want to do it on a school night, or if it was something more serious. "I want you ta'…." Here he widened his eyes significantly, indicating that he wanted to return the favor of the previous night.

Renji began reminiscing about when they had been young. They'd park in empty lots, or on the side of the freeway and kiss in the back seat, sometimes putting down all the seats and making love when it got too rainy to drive safely.

He smiled to himself, thinking about the first time he'd let Ichigo-

Renji blinked at Ichigo's face. '_He's not happy... Why is he unhappy?'_ Ichigo just frowned pitifully, scratching at invisible dirt on the tabletop.

"Am I… out of shape?" Ichigo asked vulnerably, nearly whispering. Renji just stared at him. Of all the things to suddenly worry about, he was worried about _that?_ "I know I'm not…. Like…. How I used to look... Do you think I've let myself go?" Ichigo couldn't meet his eyes.

"Oh shut up," Renji kicked him under the table. "You're not out of shape, you're gettin' way too skinny."

Ichigo sighed, "I just don't have any appetite."

"It's cause yer' worryin' too much," Renji took his hand and pecked it, taking out his cellphone when it starting ringing. "Hello?" Ichigo withdrew his hands before Renji could snatch them and further embarrass him in front of these strangers.

"Oh hey, Shuuhei," Renji sat back in the booth, putting his elbow up on the side when he saw that no one was sitting behind them to bump into. "Oh? What's the matter," Immediately, he could see Ichigo perk his ears. He was always looking for something to get wound up about.

"_I'll give you a hint. Ichigo hates it."_

"Hm… Authority? Fortune telling," Ichigo's face began to sour as Renji rattled off the list as Hisagi said no to each one, "Feng shui. Palm reading. Banjos. People who sneeze into their hands instead of their elbows. Uhhh... Psychics? Kick-a-ginger-day…." By that point, Ichigo was bristling like a porcupine, nearly hissing at him.

"_It has to do with our trip."_

"Oh? What's wrong with it?" Renji asked, sipping water that the waiter had brought. Ichigo began to stack the coffee creamers, eyeing Renji in distaste.

"_These guys tried to repossess Kira's RV."_

"Seriously? Repo men?" Ichigo narrowed his eyebrows and snorted.

"_Yeah, I think they got the wrong address or something, because Kira paid for it in full years ago."_

"Why did you wanna' tell me this?"

"_It's funny_."

Renji rolled his eyes, talking for a little bit longer before ending the call. "So, Ichigo."

"So," Ichigo said back, eyeing him as he twanged his fork. He picked up his water that the waiter brought, sipping from it.

He teased Ichigo with something really lewd about how hard he wanted him to do what and where in his out-loud voice. Ichigo nearly spat out his water in shock, cheeks going red, kicking him really hard under the table.

* * *

"C'mon, just for a little bit?" Ikkaku begged, dragging Yumichika towards his motorcycle. Yumichika watched Kenpachi leave the parking lot with Yachiru, wondering why he wasn't driving home… Did he not have a car? Ikkaku had _said_ that they were needy, but surely they weren't homeless.

"No!"

"Why ya' so scared a' my bike, sweets?" Ikkaku asked, putting his helmet on. When Yumichika didn't answer, he poked him, driving a response from him.

"_Kaa_ had a motorcycle, okay?"

Ikkaku didn't know what to say for a moment, then apologized. Yumichika insisted it was fine, conceding that _alright_, he would let him take him for a ride some other time.

"Why not now?"

"Because, who's going to drive my car back?" Yumichika questioned sarcastically.

"Oh," Ikkaku said dumbly, getting on his motorcycle, revving the engine. "Don't run me over,"

"I'll try," Yumichika rolled his eyes, soon enough watching Ikkaku closely as they drove home. Ikkaku didn't seem as reckless as Kaa – he didn't drive between lanes at least – and he drove at a reasonable speed.

When they got back into Ikkaku's parking garage, Yumichika smiled as Ikkaku took off his bike helmet, dress shirt all disheveled. He did look better next to that bike, as Ikkaku had earlier said. "You know, I used to have a jet ski. I'd ride it to work at this island restaurant that only boats could reach. In florida."

"Oh yeah? Why'dja' stop?"

"I needed money, so I sold it," Yumichika said, smiling sadly as he followed Ikkaku back to his apartment. Haruki came to the door when they opened it, meowing at them as if she wondered whether they any food to give her.

"What's the matter," Ikkaku asked levely. Yumichika looked up. He hadn't even asked 'are you okay?' He'd simply known that there was something on his mind. He decided not to lie.

"I saw Kaa earlier." Ikkaku's eyes darkened.

"Did he hurt you?" Yumichika shook his head. "You saw him, or he followed you again." Yumichika grimaced and Ikkaku groaned, knowing the answer.

"I don't like how he talks to you..." Ikkaku grumbled. "He tries ta' intimidate you cuz' he's bigger... He deliberately scared you... What is it with him, anyway,"

"He…" Yumichika sighed, growing glum, sitting back down where his still-open laptop and scrapbooking supplies were. "He has a very warped sense of reality… I don't think he really grasps things that don't revolve around him. I think he's more confused than anything…"

"What's so confusing about 'get lost,' Ikkaku snapped as he pulled off his tie, chucking it at the wall half-heartedly. Yumichika watched it flop pathetically to the floor.

"He has a hard time with cause and effect… He argues with policemen, he…. He wasn't always like this. He used to go to hospitals and tell jokes to little kids… Since his sister died… I think it changed him. You know how I said he thinks everything has to do with him? Maybe he's guilty now for the first time in his life, thinking he had something to do with her dying… and he can't deal with it."

"That's not an excuse to treat you badly, though, don't you see that?" Ikkaku said roughly, taking a powerade from the fridge and gulping it down.

Yumichika was quiet for a while, typing something into a chat bar. "Yes… I know. It's just so hard when I've been with him so long."

Ikkaku nodded, coming to sit near him, but not near enough that he could read Yumichika's conversation, wanting to give him privacy. "Look, I'm not the boss of you. I'm really not trying to sound controlling. I'm not some jerk who's gonna' tell ya' who ya' can and can't see... I just don't want something to happen to you, alright?..." When Yumichika nodded, he continued, "What did he want?"

"To apologize," Yumichika said quietly, "I know he's sorry… and that he's lonely… but I just don't think I can forgive him again," Ikkaku put a hand on his shoulder for comfort, not wanting to say anything to hurt Yumichika worse.

He'd see the way Yumichika would grow quiet and still and sad sometimes, obviously thinking about Kaa and everything he was losing – he'd always try to bring him out of it, and it would work, but he'd be left with a lingering feeling of doubt.

What if what he had to offer wasn't enough?

"If you were thinking about going back to him, you'd tell me, right?" Ikkaku asked quietly. Yumichika nodded, saying guiltily that he had been thinking about it a little.

"But I know that I can't… I've just… spent too much time… waiting for him to start feeling sorry, and… I…" Yumichika seemed to want to say something else, but sighed, "I don't know. Can we change the subject? I don't want you getting the wrong idea. I'm very happy with you, Ikkaku. I'd never be so ungrateful as to take advantage of you. You've been so kind." He snaked a finger around one of Ikkaku's, and Ikkaku smiled a little.

"I'm gonna' paint some more," Ikkaku mumbled, ruffling Yumichika's hair.

"Is it okay if I scavenge for food?" Yumichika asked, "I'll make you something,"

"Okay, thanks baby," Ikkaku said, walking to his bedroom so he could put on something he felt okay about ruining. "That's real nice of ya'." Yumichika beamed at the appreciation.

Ikkaku painted for about an hour, wolfing down a sandwich and some juice that Yumichika had made and put on a plate for him. He walked to the hardware store to get some more blue tape and clean paper to put on the carpet to block it from drips, and when he came back, there was violin music blasting, and Yumichika was nowhere to be seen.

Ikkaku went to his computer to turn the music down a little, exchanging the dirty paper for new, retaping everything as well as he could. He heard Yumichika somewhere in the house and turned his head to see Yumichika in a t-shirt and knee-length pants, dancing around to the music.

Ikkaku smiled, but didn't comment, not wanting to embarrass him at all in case he didn't want to be seen, but he still watched out of the corner of his eye. Yumichika danced _good_. Well enough that it could've been choreographed.

He minded his own business for awhile, trying to ignore the way Yumichika was prancing around him, humming cheerily.

"Hmmm, Ikkaku," Yumichika crept up behind him and tapped the back of his head, squirming up to him and putting his chin on his shoulder. Ikkaku looked at him with a smile. "What would you be in another life?"

"A pirate," Ikkaku said without asking why Yumichika had asked him that.

"Any particular pirate?"

"Hm… Roronoa Zoro. I think his santoryuu is really cool," Ikkaku grinned. "Say, your dancing looks a little bit like sword-fighting."

"My sister and I used to fence," Yumichika elaborated, turning his music down, settling down with his picture scraps and stickers once again.

Ikkaku crawled over to him, not worried about painting at that moment in particular. Yumichika showed him a couple pictures of him and their friends, telling a couple stories.

"Hey, what's that one," Ikkaku asked, pointing to one underneath the coffee table. Yumichika brought it out where he could see it, and Ikkaku's eyes immediately widened, "Is that you?"

"Yes, Me and Rangiku went cosplaying like this after this was taken. So many people stopped us to take pictures that we decided it was too good to pass up." It was Rangiku and Yumichika in Halloween costumes. Jessie and James from Team Rocket, with Ichigo's little sisters as a Pikachu and a Meowth. Yumichika had a rose in hand and was giving that sarcastic smile typical of James' face. Rangiku was hugging him around the neck and grinning for whoever was taking the picture.

"Wow… you look just like him,"

"I like to look at myself in my spare time," Yumichika said, getting the voice perfect. Ikkaku looked at the picture some more, a little jealous of Rangiku. Her costume was really good too, except her hair hadn't been styled into the point that Jessie had, which was probably impossible anyways.

A few more hours passed, with Yumichika humming away happily, snipping his pictures and construction paper just how he wanted it, before sticking them down with double sided tape squares. He'd write a couple lines, and then maybe talk to Ikkaku for a while as he painted. If this was domestic bliss, Ikkaku liked it quite a lot.

Eventually, when it neared eight o' clock, Yumichika made some macaroni and some popcorn and put on his pajamas. Ikkaku took a shower to try to get the paint smell off his skin, and he put on a white t-shirt and some sweatpants, dragging Yumichika's little TV and some blankets out into the front room so they could watch something.

"Wow, you've got nice feet," Ikkaku commented. Yumichika froze in putting the tape in the TV, turning around to look at him. Ikkaku startled, realizing what he had said, and how weird it was, "I mean… like small and… nice, I dunno', forget I said that."

He pulled his blanket over his head, flopping onto the carpet in embarrassment, letting out a long groan. Yumichika laughed a little as Ikkaku peeked out at him, "Ooh dear, my reputation will be ruined." The 'size' joke flew right over Ikkaku's naive, shiny head. "And look at yours," he scoffed a little, and Ikkaku pulled one of his feet up to his face to look at it to try to see what Yumichika meant.

"How do you even find socks that fit?" Yumichika asked airily, putting in the tape and starting to rewind it.

"I don't like socks. They make my feet sweat." Ikkaku was quiet for a moment when Yumichika made a noise that sounded like he understood. "Wow, look. Your hands are really small compared to mine." Yumichika held up a hand in comparison to Ikkaku's, and his fingers were almost an inch shorter. Ikkaku then stuck out his foot, and Yumichika rolled his eyes, petting his cat when she came and lay down next to them. "Wow… Your feet are so small."

"They're not small, yours are just big," Yumichika said slyly, giving him a coy-James expression, "You know what big feet means,"

"What," Ikkaku asked blankly, innuendo not sinking in immediately.

"Big shoes," Yumichika quipped, turning away when the movie was finally done rewinding.

It took Ikkaku another moment, before he started laughing, thinking about using that one on Kira. "Oh, that's funny-"

Yumichika flashed him a look, raising his eyebrows, "Am I going to be disappointed?" Ikkaku's eyes widened and immediately he started stuttering, face red.

"I… I mean, maybe… I dunno'-" Yumichika took pity on him and handed him the popcorn bowl, cuddling up next to him with a smile.

"I'm only joking," Yumichika sighed, and Ikkaku slowly relaxed, still a little pink in the face, holding his legs awkwardly, perhaps to hide something.

They watched 'Sleeping Beauty', which Ikkaku had never seen before. Apparently Yumichika liked a lot of kids movies, especially those with beautiful landscapes or painted scenery, like 'Bambi'. "You probably don't like princess movies, but I like the dragon," he commented, snuggling closer to him; Ikkaku sighed in contentment, holding him.

"Did the prince's voice actor die halfway through the movie or something? He didn't talk for the whole second half?" Yumichika stopped short of talking, before saying that that had never occurred to him before, and that he wondered that too.

Soon enough, Yumichika decided that he was tired, and should go to sleep so he could fresh for work tomorrow. Ikkaku agreed, following behind him, as he brushed his teeth and combed his hair. He didn't say anything when he saw Haruki had curled up in his bed.

Yumichika began to settle on the floor, but Ikkaku snatched him and hauled him to the mattress, "No, no, It's too soon, It's too soon," Yumichika protested, squealing when Ikkaku threw him over his shoulder and flopped him onto the bed.

"Okay, you've protested enough," Ikkaku gently pinned him down, and Yumichika squirmed, still trying to crawl out, but Ikkaku lay down and didn't let him get up. "You can tell 'em, that I made ya'."

"No, the angels are watching," Yumichika protested. Ikkaku just laughed, turning out his bedside light.

"Go ta' sleep, ya' nut."

* * *

Renji closed his laptop, frustrated that he hadn't been able to beat Ichigo's latest high score on 3D Space Cadet Pinball. They'd been trading scores for years, and obviously it was getting very difficult to top each other.

Ichigo crawled into bed next to him, grinning smugly when Renji pouted at losing. He loved this man, so damn much that it wasn't even funny. Renji was perfect, even with that cute little pudge that he was getting on his stomach, just enough so that he was soft to lay on. Of course, he didn't tell Renji this, lest he begin fretting over getting 'fat' or doing sit-ups like crazy.

It probably was the same reason Renji hadn't told him that he needed to go to the gym – Ichigo _knew_ that he was looking more and more like a skeleton as time went by; he didn't need Renji to inform him of it, and Renji must know that, just as Ichigo knew that he shouldn't tell Renji of this.

Besides, Ichigo loved how he looked now too. Sometimes too much muscle was just plain uncomfortable, and it made Renji that much nicer to lie on top of at night now that he had that thin layer of soft skin instead of a literal washboard under his cheek.

Ichigo kissed his neck and Renji eagerly turned out the light, beckoning Ichigo into his arms. Renji was excited. This would be just like their first time – except with less awkwardness and pain. He was getting the same butterflies and rushes of delirious love that were supposed to have faded years ago.

Though Renji would never admit it aloud, he liked it when Ichigo dominated him – he'd spent so long being afraid to give up control, because of how helpless he had felt as a child, being taken advantage of, but now, _now_ with wonderful Ichigo, it felt so good to give in and let him take control.

He knew it was probably weird, because he'd always been a little bigger than Ichigo, who'd always been on the skinny side. He knew it was weird to be a big man, and to let someone else hold him down and do what they wanted, but he really liked being at Ichigo's mercy. There was something about it that was appealing to him - he loved the attention and getting held and getting so much pleasure that he was shaking and letting out soft noises, nothing like the strong man he normally was.

He loved the teeth and the gentle sucking mouth on his neck, he loved the hands holding his wrists down to the bed, he loved the chest hulking over him with such power, and he loved knowing that only Ichigo would ever do this to him, and that only he would ever have Ichigo this way, this perfect way.

He let out a shuddery breath as Ichigo kicked the sheets down to give their already heated skin some air. Ichigo pinned his arms to the bed, biting his ear and kissing down his neck to the juncture between his shoulder and collarbone.

"I thought I'd lost ya'," Renji whispered breathily as Ichigo bit one of his nipples, pinching the other gently and rolling it between his fingers, causing him to moan lowly, "I really thought I'd lost ya'," Ichigo dug his nails into Renji's hips before pulling his underwear down, telling him to turn over.

He moaned and shuddered and twitched as Ichigo prepared him, pressing their bodies together and kissing all the way up his spine. His chest and stomach clenched, relishing in the pleasure and the tongue and the fingers all over him, leaving him burning and ready to finally _really_ have Ichigo as his.

Ichigo mentioned that he should take those condoms back to the store, and Renji nodded, moaning as he felt Ichigo press his hips down on him. He could feel his lover's arousal through the fabric, the heat and the pulsating and the insistence. He twitched in excitement, feeling like a virgin again, having so much to learn, so much to discover and enjoy like he was a fresh being without any knotches in his belt. He wondered how it would feel, how close he would feel to Ichigo when it happened.

Eventually Ichigo decided that he was ready, and slicked himself up, pressing his body over him, entering him slowly. Renji immediately moaned at the heat and the sensation. It was so much different, so unlike anything he'd ever felt, and even the pain was okay to him, just as long as Ichigo was so close to him like this, so connected to his being, sharing his heart beat and exchanging warmth, little sensations running through him as his sensitive nerves were stimulated.

It hurt, it hurt quite a bit, but still, he relished in the feeling of fullness and completion, especially the smooth heated skin, getting even harder at the way Ichigo's arousal remained stationary on his prostate, so deep that he felt like they had become one, merged their souls, merged their promises._  
_

Ichigo lay there atop him, kissing his neck, holding him until the pain lessened, until he began to relax and completely enjoy Ichigo inside him. Ichigo rolled his hips deeply, and Renji could already tell that this would feel like one of _those_ nights. One of those nights where the pleasure was never ending, where he'd come more than once, begging, sweaty, never getting enough of Ichigo filling him, reaching a void within him that none had ever touched.

"I told you," Ichigo said raggedly, pulling out and turning Renji's limp, quivering body onto its back, entering him again. He held down Renji's arms, snaking his hands up to lock their fingers together, "I told you there was nothing, you big baby," he repeated hoarsely, and Renji suddenly realized that Ichigo really had been worried that he'd been wrong. That they really would've had no future, that everything would've ended.

Renji moaned Ichigo's name, swearing that he loved him and would never stop, begging him to go deeper, to give him more of this love. He wanted to be closer, so close that he'd forget about the outside world, where the only thing that existed was the two of them like this.

Ichigo snared his fingers in Renji's hair, thrusting harder, enough that a smacking sound filled the room. Renji moaned in pleasure, eyes slipping closed, mouth open as Ichigo pulled his head back so he could bite at his neck and leave hickeys all over him.

He loved the nails running down his sides, he loved the caresses on his tattoos, he loved the sucking mouth and the little breathy noises of pleasure Ichigo made as he held up his legs. He loved the deep, slow rhythm and the bolts of warmth shooting through him as Ichigo thrust into him. He loved Ichigo and his face and his voice and his warmth, and his spirit most of all.

Renji didn't know if you could fall in love with the same person more than once, but right now he didn't care, because he was freefalling regardless, and he didn't have a parachute. He loved Ichigo all over again, feeling him this way, meeting his eyes and holding his hands. It was just like the first time, but so much better. God, he loved him and his kisses and his bright hair and his yelling and his _fighting_ and the way he held him like this.

Renji begged for Ichigo to hold him, body weak and shaking from the continuous pleasure. Ichigo wrapped his skinny but strong arms around him, kissing him slowly as he thrust deeply, hitting his prostate with long full contact, leaving Renji breathless and whispering his name.

"I love you, okay? I love you," Ichigo whispered onto his lips, holding his face as Renji locked his legs around his back. He nodded, out of breath, enjoying the way they were making love, feeling that all of it was worth it if he got to do this even one time. It was so warm, and so close. He could feel Ichigo's heartbeat, and the slick of skin pounding into him. It was so much better than he'd ever imagined it would be.

Ichigo pulled out and grabbed him by the hips, dragging him to the edge of the bed, sticking a pillow under his lower back. Ichigo stood behind him, holding down his arms, looking down at his sweaty, disheveled lover with warm eyes. "I love how you look like this," Ichigo mumbled, entering him again, running hands along his tattoos. "Yer' way too damn handsome fer' human eyes,"

Renji moaned loudly, head lolling back into his mess of loose hair. How he loved it when Ichigo did this to him, bent him and all the power under his tattooed skin to his will. It felt like they were proving the world wrong, making everyone see why they were equals.

He clenched his hands into fists where Ichigo had him pinned, begging for more as the new angle sent so much pleasure through him that he could hardly handle it. "Ichigo," he gasped as Ichigo kissed and licked his collar bone, snaking his hand down to grab his arousal, fingering the tribal tattoos. "Harder," Renji begged, panting, wanting to be unable to feel his hips in the morning.

Ichigo did not disappoint, grabbing him by the hips, thrusting harder and faster, their skin sticking together, making a loud slapping noise every time they met. Renji moaned, desperately fisting a hand around his erection, pumping it in time to the pounding of Ichigo's cock inside him.

Ichigo met his eyes, pulling his hips back harder, still going deep even though his strokes were faster now. Renji locked in a gaze with him, tensing up as he came all over his stomach, body clenching up around Ichigo's arousal. He moaned, eyes fluttering as his vision went dark for a moment. Ichigo growled, mumbling about his 'look' as he thrust faster into him, giving him aftershocks too intense for him to bear. Renji shuddered helplessly, moaning weakly as Ichigo panted and groaned with his approaching orgasm.

Still getting small jolts of pleasure through him with Ichigo's thrusts, Renji clamped down with the last of his strength, and Ichigo staggered, nearly flopping onto him as he gave a loud moan and came deep inside him. Renji made a noise of surprise, still getting euphoric waves rushing through him, as he felt Ichigo's cum. Wow... Oh wow, that felt... It was so warm… and the way Ichigo twitched within him, and the way Ichigo couldn't hold himself up anymore, eyes dilated with pleasure as he tried to kiss him – Renji just loved it. He felt very complete, and didn't even mind the warm trail leaking out of him when Ichigo pulled out and sat down next to him in exhaust.

He just lay there, limp and thoroughly satisfied, weakly moving an arm to Ichigo's back, which Ichigo lay down on, gasping for air next to him.

"I want a turn," Ichigo said a little jealously, with a content smile on his face as his chest rose and fell, glistening with sweat. "You never make noise like that," he commented as Renji struggled to sit up to kiss him, completely boneless from getting fucked that good.

Renji laughed a little, kissing Ichigo all over his face, surprised to feel the moisture in his eyes just trial down his sweaty cheeks, "I love you," he mumbled, kissing Ichigo's mouth, slipping his tongue inside, saying it again with a muffled voice. Ichigo's arms encircled his neck and they kissed for a few minutes, Ichigo petting his tangled hair.

"Want a shower, hun?" Renji mumbled, kissing Ichigo's forehead, and then his nose, and his eyelids. Ichigo thought for a moment, but shook his head.

"Let's just stay like this… for a little while," he said, breath still irregular, catching Renji's lips again. Renji was about to protest that he'd ruin the sheets if he stayed like this, with Ichigo's cum inside him, but Ichigo looked like he didn't care how much new sheets would cost. Ichigo got up and opened a window for a nighttime breeze to cool their feverish skin - he looked like he'd say 'screw the sheets' if he mentioned it, so Renji just smiled and lay his head down on his cool pillow, letting Ichigo get close to him, hooking a leg over his hip when close wasn't close enough.

"Night, Renji," Ichigo said sleepily, kissing him one last time, "Love you…" He sighed, sinking into the mattress, saying more on his next breath, "A real lot,"

Renji kissed his head, arm around Ichigo's back, holding him as close as possible, hoping that there would never be such a serious threat to their relationship such as AIDS ever again. This just couldn't end.

"Are you happy?" Renji asked quietly, kissing his face to keep him from falling asleep yet. Ichigo's eyes fluttered open again, face so close to his that Renji could feel his lashes on his cheek.

"Yeah…" he said back, trailing his fingers on Renji's back, "I know I get pissed a lot, n' shout… but, I'm happy. I love havin' a life with you… you're my best friend," Ichigo went into a whisper, eyes closing again, "M' happy…"

"Good," Renji said back, petting him a little, "Night, Ichigo."

"G'night,"


	14. Chapter 14

(Yes, I republished this chapter, because I added on more at the end of it. I decided it was too short to put into a new chapter, so I mushed these together)

AN - would anyone mind if this is one of those stories that has like a billion chapters? I do have a plot line thought out, but I might get carried out and drag it out really long (I'm notorious for doing that) And just to let everyone know, I won't end the story without a yumixikkaku kiss/sex scene, etc. So don't worry! I'll get it in, I just don't want Yumichika to put out so early, so be paitient, lol. I'm striving for realism here.

This story might be rather dull or boring or unexciting, but remember, I'm striving for realism. I think that's part of what's special about this story - all the normal stuff makes it easier to imagine it really happening. As a reviewer commented, there's a sort of 'beauty in the mundane', and that's exactly what I'm going for.

Also - **Please, take the time to read the following: (I know it's long, pardonne moi)**

I addressed this when replying to a reviewer, and I realized that I hadn't made this clear. I know Kaa's getting ridiculously pathetic. I _know_, okay? I wanted to make him sound like one of those 'popular kids' in high school or something. Like the ones that you can't really figure out why everyone likes them, because they're rock stupid? I tried to make him seem like that, but I didn't really succeed, I suppose, because he's getting really pitiful and obsessive. I'm _sorry_, okay? Ha-ha, I guess I still need to work on writing good original characters.

Anyways, I _promise_ Kaa will leave them alone after this chapter and he won't reappear until the very end of the story for the climax.

Another thing I don't think I talked about before, is that everyone keeps asking me to make Ikkaku and Yumichika kiss already. So I had them kiss to appease you guys. To explain the wait, remember, again, I'm striving for realism, and Ikkaku and Yumichika are complete strangers basically. It's already pretty ridiculous that they're strangers who are now living together _and_ sleeping in the same bed, so please cut me some slack here. I know that I'm notorious for dragging things out, and I'm sorry. I hope you can at least understand why I didn't just have them jump in the sack. Because if you think about it, it _is_ too soon. They've known each other two days, and to have them kiss, I thought would be tasteless, tacky, and overall ridiculous - but I think I made it work nicely.

One last thing - You might wonder why Yumichika would date Kaa, what with his insanely high standards. The thing is, at the start of their relationship, Yumichika saw what everybody else did: beauty, popularity, riches, wit. He liked Kaa for who he appeared to be, and it took a while for the real Kaa to show himself, and by that point, Yumichika was the classic abused girlfriend who was still in love with the person who he _had_ been. I hope that makes sense.

Okay, thank you for taking the time to read. I'm sorry I re-updated this chapter with more story in it, but I was working on it, thought I should post it like it was, and then thought that if I didn't bunch chapters together that it would end up with like fourty chapters - Sorry for the confusion, everybody, thank you for the support and for reading; I really never thought this AU would be more than a oneshot or that it would be this successful. Thank you so much

* * *

. . .

* * *

"Time ta' get up," Ikkaku grumbled, pulling himself out of bed. He looked over at Yumichika, wiping crust from his eyes. "Hey," he insisted, still getting no response.

After blinking a few times, he smiled. Yumichika had ended up curled in a ball, face pressed against the mattress with his rear in the air. Ikkaku shook him, and Yumichika just flopped onto his side with a sleepy moan.

"C'mon, time fer' work, babe." Yumichika sat up and mumbled a good morning, yawning, and then freezing mid-yawn as if he had come across some horrible revelation.

"What," Ikkaku stared back at Yumichika's shocked and horrified face.

"You saw me without makeup on!" Yumichika shrieked, running out into the hall, as if he had forgotten that Ikkaku had seen him like that yesterday too. Maybe he thought it was somehow different if he saw him before he woke up as opposed to what happened yesterday.

"Oh, you're full of baloney," Ikkaku grumbled, hitting him with a pillow and heading to the kitchen for some fruit. "I got class today, so I'm gonna' be home about... Three," he mumbled half to himself, half to the piece of watermelon he was eating.

Yumichika poked his head out of the bathroom, covering his face with his hands, "What was that?"

Ikkaku just grimaced; he had known for ages that he would fall for a complete dork, and it looked like he had indeed. "I'm comin' back from school at three today. N' stop that, you're too pretty ta' be whinin' like that." Yumichika threw a towel at him as he started brushing his teeth. "Hey, I might fool around at the park to study for awhile, so if I'm not back by three, don't worry."

"Yes, alright. When do you think I should go back home?" Yumichika asked, "I don't want to wear out my welcome."

"Well... You don't... You don't _have_ ta' go," Ikkaku said awkwardly, stuffing his face to mask the bitterness he felt. "I mean, it gets lonely now that I don't live with red n' redder... so... I like havin' ya'."

Yumichika peeped his head out again, toothbrush in his mouth. He withdrew it to speak some more. "Ikkaku, you know as well as I do that it's inappropriate. We met on Friday, and I'm still tangled up in the loose ends of my last relationship. It's just inappropriate."

Ikkaku scowled, chucking his watermelon rind in the trash. "Yeah, but... c'mon, why should it matter so much? It's not like gossip'll matter, I don't got any friends."

"That's rich, seeing as you're going on vacation with seven of them." Yumichika rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but none'a' them'll be weird over you bein' here!"

"Do you think _I_ don't have friends who gossip? You heard me and Rangiku yesterday, my friends are rumor-mongering harpies."

"They probably won't even figure it out!"

Yumichika looked at him, "Ikkaku."

Ikkaku sighed, knowing Yumichika was right. "... I still wish you'd stay," he said begrudgingly.

"I don't get why," Yumichika mumbled, withdrawing back into the bathroom. "Besides, Ikkaku, I can hardly afford rent on my salary now. I can't let that money just go to waste."

"Alright, alright," Ikkaku conceded. "Maybe you could think about it? We could be roommates and you could live here?"

"You and I both know that it doesn't count as roommates if the roommates are dating," Yumichika said skeptically, hands on his hips, looking out at him again.

"C'mon, please?" Ikkaku asked. "At least think about it?" He stuck out his lower lip, and Yumichika answered that puppy eyes didn't work on him. "Pleaaaase? I'll clean out the storage room, and you can sleep in there if you want."

Yumichika seemed to consider it then. It wasn't as if they had a physical relationship at this point, and Ikkaku hadn't made any move to push him towards kissing him or doing him favors, which was very comforting. He hadn't even made _jokes_ about it. That made it a lot easier to imagine.

Maybe if things had progressed further between them, he would have given an adamant no, but seeing as things were so innocent still, they could slide by as roommates for a while.

And Kaa wouldn't find him. Bonus points.

"Hmm. We'll see." Ikkaku grinned crazily at his small victory. It seemed that insanity had once again beat out rationality.

They got ready for work and school, and Yumichika by that point, was made up and gorgeous like usual, and they went their separate ways at the parking garage. Ikkaku walked to school, and Yumichika drove to work, wondering how his life had settled into something so perfectly _wonderfully_ peaceful.

No more nights of heartache and wondering, no more drunk phone calls, no more hearing rumors about what his 'lover-but-not-really' had done with so and so, no more bailing him out of jail at three in the morning.

Ikkaku wanted him to move in with him after two days of knowing him, and if Yumichika didn't know better, he'd say Ikkaku had become way too emotionally invested. The _look _in the man's eyes when he looked at him was just... oh, he just melted. There was so much care and concern and _love_, dare he say it.

Somehow Ikkaku, despite his violent nature and aspirations to become a fighter, tasted so much sweeter than Kaa, the man who was perfect at everything. Ikkaku's roughness contrasted sharply with how naive he was when it came to these things. Yumichika had never met a man that approached romance like Ikkaku did, and the best thing about it was that Ikkaku wasn't even _aware_ of how innocent things were, and how sweet it was.

Ikkaku just enjoyed his presence that much, and that was immensely appealing to Yumichika. Ikkaku didn't even have to put in effort to be nice to him or treat him well. He just _did_ it, like breathing.

'I'm not doing nice things to get on your good side, I'm doing nice things because you _deserve _it. _Obviously_you're just as beautiful without makeup on, _of course_ I should carry your stuff while you're in the bathroom, there's _no way_ you're sleeping on the floor if you're my guest, _Yes_ I want to hold your hand just because. Hug me, watch movies with me, be my sweetheart, let me carry you on my back, let me pick you flowers and buy you ice cream,_ you're the best thing ever, you're my favorite everything.'_

Ikkaku acted like he was a five-year-old with his first crush, who he'd share crayons with and catch frogs for, and chase to try to kiss. It's like it had never even crossed Ikkaku's mind that he'd be great to have sex with - he just enjoyed his company that much.

Yumichika really really liked it.

Somehow, what they had now was almost normal, just like how he'd imagined his life turning out when he'd been little, dreaming of prince charming or something. Meeting a nice man, with 2.5 children and picket fences and a golden retriever and shit like that. Normal stuff. The thing was, normal stuff in Yumichika's life had become abnormal, and he was struggling to keep up with how happy he had become in such a short period of time.

Perhaps that was just Ikkaku's crazy grin seeping into his bones and warming him. He really was crazy; that was the only explanation. Ikkaku was crazy and warm and honest and crass and _perfect_, and oh, Yumichika just liked it so much, that he didn't even feel like he had to be cautious or guarded.

This just wasn't normal, was it?

But he supposed again, that he felt like trying something a little different, a little crazy. Maybe his life would finally start looking up again.

Maybe he'd finally found his calling, his place or something; Maybe it was just like Ikkaku had said. He just had this 'feeling' that this was what he was supposed to do, and that he, Yumichika, was who he was supposed to be with.

Maybe it was so crazy that it was true. Maybe Ikkaku was right.

Stranger things have happened.

* * *

Renji dragged himself through the door, throwing his backpack on the ground and flopped gratefully onto the couch with a tired moan of ecstasy at the soft pillows. Damn, finals week was _killer. _He swore he was burning twice the amount of normal calories, just from how stressed out he was.

His nocturnal lover opened the bathroom door to peek out and make sure that it was he who had entered the house and not some burglar or nosy salesman. His hair was sleep-ruffled, and he had a toothbrush in his mouth.

Seeing his spiky hair and his shoulders sticking out over the back of the couch, he rinsed out his mouth and shuffled out into the hall, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Renji made a little noise as Ichigo came and curled his still sleep-soft body up next to him. "Ya' tired, Red?" he asked softly, putting his head in the crook of Renji's neck. "Ya' look tired."

"... Yeah," Renji gave a sigh and sunk into the couch, leaning his head back, completely exhausted. "Ya' sleep good?" Ichigo nodded in response, moving to lay his head in Renji's lap, still bleary-eyed. Their romp last night had thrown off his sleep schedule.

Renji leaned down tiredly to kiss him, and Ichigo gave a peaceful little sound as Renji snuck his fingers through his wild hair. "Mm," when Renji pulled back, Ichigo curled a finger for him to give him another.

After a few moments, Ichigo crawled into Renji's lap and put his arms around his shoulders, kissing him for a little while. Renji put his hands on Ichigo's hips and back, rubbing up and along his spine, smiling. There was something very endearing about Ichigo in pajamas and with sex hair and innocent sleepy eyes.

"Morning handsome," he mumbled onto Ichigo's lips, not moving to grope him, just enjoying kissing him for a little bit. Eventually Ichigo withdrew and pecked his cheek, getting up to make some cereal.

"It's not morning. It's three," he commented with one last yawn, even though he knew that Renji had meant since he'd just woken up. "Man, I gotta' study my ass off."

"Don't study it _all_ the way off," Renji said in mock dismay, and Ichigo gave him the finger, "Aw c'mon, don't stress too hard, baby, you'll go bald like Ikkaku." Ichigo looked at him from the kitchen, holding a bowl.

"He didn't go bald from stressing out, you stupid idiot. That doesn't happen to people our age." Renji rolled his eyes, before closing them, resting on the couch for a little longer.

Ichigo was quiet for a while, letting his cereal swill around as he ashamedly looked at Renji. "You're angry right?..."

"I am?" Renji asked curiously, looking at Ichigo, who looked guilty. Oh, Renji could remember that last night Ichigo had lain on his hair, and he had yelled at him that it hurt, and Ichigo punched him in the mouth because he had accidentally kneed him in the groin.

"Yeah... I _hit_ you..." Ichigo turned away, biting his lips with a sigh. Renji looked at him. They hit and shoved each other a lot when they bickered, but that was okay because they were just kidding. For Ichigo to be upset about it, it must've been serious, or he must at least think that Renji had taken it seriously. "I... Didn't mean it."

"Hey, I'm not angry, alright?" Renji looked over the edge of the couch at him, "I know you didn't mean it."

"I'm sorry, though..." Ichigo sighed, "I didn't mean ta' hit ya' so hard. I don't know why I did that... Is your face okay?"

"I'm not angry, I said. I'm fine, nothin' broke."

"Okay, okay, enough whinin', I'm done whinin'," Ichigo promised with a sheepish grin. Renji smiled back, being patient because he knew that finals were really tearing Ichigo apart. "Whaddya' want fer' dinner?"

"It's your day. I don't get ta' pick," Renji said adamantly. Ichigo sighed, opening the fridge, still having fucked up hair and sheep pajamas on.

Renji lie down across the sofa, toeing off his sandals and undoing his ponytail. He put an arm over his eyes as his overlong legs hung over the armrest.

"Want me ta' go get the car from the shop later?" Renji asked wearily, "I don't want you goin' ta' school on the subway at night." Ichigo gave an annoyed groan at what he perceived as controlling behavior, even if he knew Renji was right about it being dangerous.

"Yes, that would be nice," Ichigo answered tightly, "While you're at it, you can take those condoms back to the store and get your twenty bucks back. Take back that fan too, it's a piece of crap."

Renji cracked a smile, not moving his forearm from where it was blocking the light from his eyes, "Kay'," he said in reply, feeling so tired and lame that he didn't even feel like summoning the energy to go grab a blanket. "Ya' said ya' were jealous last night. When we gonna' fit in givin' you a turn?"

Ichigo was quiet for a moment, and Renji listened for a reply, half-hoping Ichigo would put it off so he could rest. He was feeling too worn out to even make love to his boyfriend, and that was pretty pathetic.

"Well, it'll be too early in the morning by the time I come back from school. I'm not waking you up; you need your rest for finals. And I don't really feel like it now, do you?"

"Nah, not really," Renji sighed, "M' worn out, I don't even feel like movin' my mouth ta' talk," he mumbled. Ichigo gave a snort and answered back saying that he was considering letting them fool around on their vacation, even though he had been adamant about doing the opposite.

"Knew ya'd change yer' mind. Ya' can't resist these guns," Renji said, peeking a hand over the edge of the sofa with a duck face.

"Oh yeah right," Ichigo said sarcastically. "Truth or dare: What's your favorite thing about Renji," Ichigo gave a mock hum of thought, "Hmmm, definitely his guns and not his big dopey face. Or his stupid way of stacking the dishes. Or his tight ass. Or his tattoos, Or his blankity-blank inches long-"

"Alright, alright, shut up," Renji laughed, "C'mere an' kiss me some."

"I thought you didn't want ta' do it," Ichigo said in confusion, settling on making maraconi and cheese, with potato chips. Renji liked to eat it like salsa, which he often complained about, but secretly thought was cute and unique. One of those things that was just _Renji._

"I said I wanna' kiss ya'," Renji said again. "Can't I kiss ya' without ya' gettin' suspicious?"

"Well, you usually escalate things," Ichigo raised his eyebrows and peeked over the edge of the couch in intrigue and curious interest.

"I wanna' kiss ya', I said," Renji said stubbornly, demanding that Ichigo come cuddle him so they could kiss for awhile. Truth be told, Ichigo missed things like that; They'd used to do that all the time in high school and for a few years after.

"Your wish is my command,"

* * *

Ikkaku's phone rang almost the exact moment he left his last class. He let it ring until he exited the building, putting it to his ear. He didn't have caller-ID, so he hoped Yumichika was calling him on his break or something. "Hello?"

"Ika-ku?" said an unfamiliar voice. Ikkaku scowled, immediately stopping the guy.

"Dude. It's I-_kah_-ku,"

"Oh right, right, sorry," said the voice nervously, and Ikkaku wondered how the guy almost knew his name. It probably wasn't someone he knew, because the guy had obviously never heard his name spoken aloud before, or he wouldn't have messed it up.

"I just wanted ta' talk ta' ya'. I can pay ya' if ya' answer my questions." Ikkaku frowned a little, not hanging up immediately as he crossed the street. The park was about a mile away, and there was a nice shady tree that people liked to study under.

"Mhm," he answered flatly.

"I just wanted ta' know, is Yumichika paying ya' ta' go along with his scheme ta' get back at me?"

Ikkaku pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it incredulously, "What? Dude, how did you get my number?" This fucker was relentless. To everyone else in the world, a punch to the nose was a huge 'fuck off'. Maybe this guy couldn't read between the lines or something.

"Not important-" he said hurriedly, "Answer me-" he demanded, then cut himself off, trying to sound more polite, "Please, mister."

"What, _no, _he's not paying me. There's no scheme, man." For a moment, it sounded as if Kaa was thinking 'joke's on you then, cause 'Yummy's' pranking ya', but then Ikkaku got the feeling that he was considering the possibility of him being _right _about there being no scheme.

"Huh... That can't be," he said in disbelief, quiet for a few minutes. Ikkaku didn't hang up, because the guy hadn't insulted him yet, or been rude, so he thought he'd listen to see what the guy's motives were. "Maybe it's just more elaborate than I thought. Yummy always was really clever," he mumbled as if he was trying to piece things together.

Ikkaku rolled his eyes, crossing another street. He used a calm voice, really trying to get this guy to understand, "Dude, _listen to me_. He _left_ you. There's no scheme."

Kaa was quiet for a full thirty seconds. Ikkaku thought he'd hung up. "Oh... he's trying to make me feel guilty and do some nice things for him, an' ask him back?"

"Oh my God, you're not getting the point," Ikkaku said in exasperation, not feeling angry for some reason. He was actually starting to feel a little sorry for him. Yumichika was right about this guy's process of thought being warped. "He's not trying to trick you into feeling jealous or into begging him back. He's _left_ you, he's _gone. _Now he's with me, this has _nothing_ to do with you."

Kaa took a breath like he was going to say 'oh', but then he exhaled, humming in confusion, "I don't understand."

"I don't get what you don't get. He broke up with you. That's it." Kaa seemed unable to accept that there wasn't some deeper meaning or plot or scheme or something, and that it somehow lead back to something to do with him and messing with his mind.

Ikkaku began to get frustrated and angry that he couldn't take no for an answer, and Kaa became apologetic and almost meek. "Hey, woah, woah, woah, no need ta' shout, just calm down a little,"

Ikkaku just sighed, glad that the park was finally in sight, way down at the end of the street.

"How's he lookin'?"

"_What?_"

"Woah, woah now, I mean how's he looking? Was he sad or somethin' last time ya' saw him? Is he eatin'?"

"Yeah, he eats just fine."

"He's not smokin', is he? Sometimes when he'd get upset, he'd smoke a cigarette."

"_What_, you seriously drive him to smoking?"

"Well, at least it's not drinking-" Ikkaku was overcome with the urge to punch him again.

"No, I didn't see him smoke," he said through gritted teeth. Eventually Kaa got done with his questions and said an awkward bye just as Ikkaku made it into the park.

"Geez," Ikkaku groaned. "Got a feelin' this isn't over. Fuck."

* * *

"Did you guy's break up or something?" Yumichika asked flatly as Renji stood in front of him with a blush. "What would you need a refund on- _Hh!"_

Renji startled, jerking back from the counter, looking even more embarrassed as Yumichika squealed and congratulated him on finally going to get checked.

"_Not so loud!"_ he shouted, and Yumichika rolled his eyes, commenting on his celebration hickeys. Renji just whined, putting his head in his hands.

"Alright, alright, I'm done teasing you," Yumichika laughed, before he sneezed.

* * *

Ikkaku settled down under the nice tree, pleased that there weren't any other college students there, hogging it. He listened to the classical music playing over the loudspeakers set up in the lamposts lining the sidewalks of the large park.

He tried to ignore some idiot who was speaking bad japanese out loud to themselves like a crazy person as he recognized the next song that came on.

He studied for about ten minutes, recognizing a couple trashy pop songs that they played for people that were supposedly jogging on the biking path.

"That makes me..." he hummed a little, laying on his back, book propped up on his knees, "Lucky..."

The wind blew, and he wondered what Yumichika was doing, if he was perhaps getting harassed by some more grocery store thugs, or whether he was scanning really creepy items for questionable looking middle aged men. He smiled a little, imagining Yumichika calling security after checking out duct tape, garbage bags, and wire cutters.

"God, I'm lucky, so much luckier than I ever thought I'd be, cause' what I have-" he stopped, not remembering any more of the words. He put his book over his face, exhaling, wanting to just go home and share in more of that domestic bliss Yumichika and he had going. He really liked the dynamic they shared - it sort of reminded him of Ichigo and Renji's relationship, which he'd always been a little jealous of.

Not that he wanted to date either of them - he just meant that he'd wished for someone to love like that.

He heard that crappy guy trying to speak japanese start singing to the bridge of the song, and _damn_ he should sing professionally instead of studying to be a translator.

"With your patience... when I'm blinding mad... And your passion for me, when I'm _really, really bad-" _Ikkaku picked the book off his face, suddenly recognizing the voice he had heard not half-an-hour ago on the phone.

"The fuck-" Ikkaku chucked his book down, seriously pissed, peeking over the bushes near him, "What the fuck is wrong with you! You are such a _creep!"_

Kaa looked at him in alarm, nearly falling off his bench, and Ikkaku had to admit, he looked really pathetic compared to the last time he'd seen him. He looked homeless, like he'd been sleeping out here on this bench - nothing like the glamarous, sarcastic, confident, ladies man he'd met a couple days ago.

What the hell had happened to him? It looked like something had crawled out his ass and bit him.

"What the hell," Kaa gasped in alarm, panting from being scared like that. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Ikkaku just sighed in exasperation, head flopping back on his shoulders. At least it might have been a real coincidence this time, instead of that stupid half-assed explanation Kaa always gave for being in the right place at the right time. "Wow. You really just can't tell when you're not wanted, can ya'?"

"Maybe," the guy said woefully, crawling back onto the bench without brushing himself off. He looked really glum and depressed, like he'd finally realized the consequences of what his glamorous, selfish lifestyle had wrought. The loss of Yumichika. "Maybe I just don't care anymore."

"Wait, what are you doing here?" Ikkaku asked in confusion. This section of the park was the unofficial glen that only the hipster college students came to to study and do drugs and the like. "The fuck? You go to _college?_"

"Pssh," Kaa said, as if that were ridiculous, "No,"

"Then what's this textbook for," Ikkaku tried to pick it back up, but Kaa snatched it and shoved it down his shirt.

"Nothing!"

"Yeah, okay," Ikkaku rolled his eyes, sitting down in the grass. "You are the stupidest fuck I've ever met."

Kaa frowned, staying quiet for a little while, before he took out his wallet and threw it at him, "Take what ya' like, I said I'd pay ya'."

"Oh." Part of Ikkaku didn't want this guy's stupid money, but holy shit, he literally only had hundreds in his wallet.

"Too modest," Kaa took out a bunch of the bills and threw them at Ikkaku. He flopped back against the bench miserably. "It's just too late, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ikkaku said hesitantly, touching the guy's knee. "I... Look... Ya' gotta' take no for an answer. If ya' really cared about him, you'd want him to be happy no matter what, right?"

"Right," Kaa said immediately, "I don't want ta' hurt him anymore, I really want to be better."

"Then you need to put his happiness before yours. You've gotta' let go," Ikkaku said solemnly, meeting the guy's eyes dead on.

Kaa looked back at him for almost a full half minute. Then he sighed, drilling his knuckles into one eyesocket, frowning sadly, "Maybe... maybe you're right... Maybe you're right... Damn, but this hurts."

"I know, man. I know. But love hurts sometimes... and so does the truth. But ya' still gotta' face it."

"Okay... Sage advice... Thanks... I'm... Sorry I kept trying ta' piss you off to goad you into hitting me so Yumichika would see that you're worse than I am... I... I'll leave you guys alone, promise."

* * *

Ikkaku was sure that Kaa had finally backed off, so he wasn't pissed or even surprised when he got another call when he and Yumichika were sitting on his bed, using it like a couch, watching movies on Yumichika's laptop.

"Yeah?"

"Hey... Um, it's Kaa. Hi, Ikkaku," the guy said awkwardly, as if he knew how obsessive and stalker-ish he was getting.

"What," Ikkaku cut right to the chase, at least satisfied that the guy had said his name right.

"Hey, I'm sorry for calling here, I swear I won't bother you again-"

"Okay, okay, what do you need?"

"Is Yumichika there?" he asked a little uneasily, and Ikkaku heard some footsteps, and a car honking in the distance. Had the guy literally been roaming the streets? He was obviously loaded, so maybe he was just miserable instead of poor and homeless.

"Yeah, he's right here," Ikkaku said, making no move to hand the phone to Yumichika, and there was no way he ever would. Yumichika looked up at the mention of his name, giving an embarrassed sigh, putting his head in his hands.

He was really sick of all of this, and he was afraid that it would ruin his chances with Ikkaku.

"What? He's in your _house?"_

"Yeah," Ikkaku said simply and flatly.

"Hm... well alright..." Kaa seemed to realize that he didn't own Yumichika like a vase or a lamp, which was a step in the right direction. "So... How is he? Does he still look okay? Can you smell him?"

Ikkaku gave an incredulous face, pulling the phone away from his ear to look at it. "No, no, no, I mean, I meant if you can smell if he's smoked. I don't want him ta' be smoking cause' a' m-" Kaa cut himself off, struggling to_not_ make things relate back to himself. "Because it's bad for 'im."

"He hasn't been. He's fine. He came with me to my neice's baptism today. He's taking a nap," he lied, not wanting Kaa to ask him if he could talk to him. Yumichika was having a tough enough time not going back to this guy. The last thing he needed was for Kaa to have an ace in the hole to get Yumichika back. "He's tired from last night."

"Last night... There's no way he slept with you," Kaa called bull shit.

"What the hell? I didn't mean that, somebody was breaking shit in the middle of the night so we got woken up."

"Ah... I see. How's he look? Is he happy?"

"Yeah," Ikkaku side-slitted his eyes, smiling a little as Yumichika kept watching his show. "He looks happy."

"Good, that's good... Okay, I'm gonna' go, sorry for botherin' ya', man. Thanks a lot."

"Okay, bye."

"Really. Thanks."

"Bye," Ikkaku said again, prompting him to hang up. Kaa did after breathing awkwardly, wanting to say something more, but changing his mind. Ikkaku shut his phone, immediately turning to Yumichika.

"Let's go to the club, babe." Yumichika looked at him in shock, but _pleased _shock.

"What? _Now?_"

"Yes. Right now."

Yumichika frowned at him skeptically, "Who parties on a Monday?"

"Exactly," Ikkaku said, "There won't be a crowd this way, and I can dance with you without having my butt touching six other peoples, yuck-"

Yumichika just stared at him for a while, before getting up and running out into the front room. Ikkaku thought maybe he'd run away to cry or something, but as he followed him, he saw that Yumichika was on his ass on the ground, pulling on his boots and his jacket.

* * *

"Put it on."

"No,"

"_Put it on!"_

"I said _no!_ I'll look stupid," Yumichika said irately, shying away from the bike helmet Ikkaku kept trying to pop onto his head.

"You'll look even stupider with your brain splattered all over the pavement, now _get on!_"

* * *

Yumichika smiled, head on Ikkaku's shoulder, slow dancing in a dark and deserted corner, happiness flashing from one moment to the next. It was all just this warm and fuzzy blur, and not the kind you'd get from a date-rape drug, which he knew all too well.

One moment listening to Ikkaku calmly deal with his desperate ex, even convincing him to leave them alone without resorting to shouting or death threats, the next moment warm and secure, hugging Ikkaku's back, the next dancing and holding each other in a club that was still rather empty because of how early it was - only eight p.m. so far. All the girls there were still sober and were clothed properly.

The music was loud and less rowdy since there weren't many people there yet, but it was still heavy, pounding their ribcages with each beat.

Ikkaku held him around the waist while Yumichika held him in turn around the shoulders. Ikkaku tipped his forehead down onto his as they swayed from side to side, smiling. "Are you happy, Yumichika?"

"Yes," Yumichika whispered into his ear.

Ikkaku blinked a couple times, before smiling in a self-deprecating way, club strobe lights playing over his face, "Can I give you a kiss?"

Yumichika looked at him, a little taken aback, before he inched forward to meet Ikkaku halfway, loving the way Ikkaku held his face in his large strong hands.

Ikkaku's lips were softer and warmer than he'd expected; it was so nice - Yumichika hadn't gotten kisses like this from Kaa, who had only given him invasive kisses with lots of tongue or biting.

Ikkaku tilted his head to the other side, kissing him a couple more times, still rocking them to the music. He gave a sigh, kissing Yumichika's face, near the temple, then on his cheekbone. "I'm in love with you. Is that okay?"

Yumichika backed away from him then, looking at him incredulously. "What? Wh- No, you aren't, we don't even-"

"Look," Ikkaku said seriously, "A mom doesn't have ta' wait a year before she loves her baby, cause' she knows it's special the second it's born. Maybe I just know what I want as soon as it see it?"

"What you're feeling is infatuation," Yumichika said in exasperation, knowing that it was wrong to be melting into Ikkaku's arms, wrong to let this delusional idiot kiss him all over his face and shoulders, knowing it was wrong to want so badly to return Ikkaku's feelings.

"No-" Ikkaku said, looking in his eyes, "no, I'm supposed to be here... I know it... I just know it." Ikkaku began smiling like a maniac, kissing the crown of his head as the music switched to something with a faster beat, like Yumichika's pounding heart.

"You really are crazy," Yumichika said breathlessly, with wonder-filled eyes.

"Crazy for you." As much as Yumichika wanted to slap him senseless for that corny joke, part of him just melted, and he couldn't bring himself to do anything but stand on Ikkaku's feet and kiss him again.

"Boy, am I lucky tonight," Ikkaku whispered with a little laugh against Yumichika's lips, wrapping his arms around him and spinning him in a circle. "I freakin' love you, you dork."

* * *

AN- Lol, this is what you guys have been waiting for. Tell me, please. Do you think it's overdone? I was afraid of writing a kiss scene so soon because of how unrealistic it is, but then again fanfiction is fanfiction, and I have a right to be incredibly sappy in my Yumichika x Ikkaku fantasies.


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